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Intro to AI Webinar

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the buzzword heard all over the world. From government services to association management, artificial intelligence has truly made an unmistakable impact. 

As impactful as this new tech tool has been, there’s no wonder why organizations all over the world are scrambling to implement artificial intelligence in their own business strategy. But what many fail to realize is that AI is just like any other tech tool, and needs to be held to the same standards.

Mike Kaput, the Chief Content Officer at Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute — a company that makes powerful AI technology approachable and actionable for marketer — sat down with Sidecar earlier this month to discuss the realities of artificial intelligence and how associations can implement it in the future.

One thing he focused on: the importance of being realistic about what artificial intelligence can do for your association.

“In a lot of ways, artificial intelligence is exactly the same as any new tech tool you might be considering,” he said. “It’s the same processes, considerations, questions and concerns that you would have over implementing any new technology.”

While artificial intelligence can do amazing things for your organization, it is not the end-all-be-all. Like any other tech tool, AI tools have learning curves, application issues or just may not be a great fit for one's organization. 

A common misconception is that by implementing artificial intelligence, all your organization’s problems will be solved. Instead, Kaput said you can apply the technology to a smaller part of your organization strategy that can make small but meaningful differences over time. 

For example, he said that instead of attempting to use artificial intelligence across all of your organization’s email marketing, try finding an AI tool that could help with open rates by writing subject lines, or something similar.

In the event that an AI tool your organization applies does not work the way it was anticipated, Kabut says not to worry.

“Don’t get discouraged,” he said. “There’s a pretty high chance that as organizations test and implement more tools that some of them are going to fail.”

He continued, “If you set expectations up front that AI is going to transform (your) entire organization when (you) turn this tool on, and it fails — you’re in a lot of trouble because the expectations are sky high to begin with, but also just completely unrealistic.”

When approaching your board with the possibility of AI tools being implemented, it's important to remain practical. Keep in mind that just like any other tech tool, artificial intelligence can fail, underperform or just not be a great fit. Realistic expectations are what distinguishes associations trying to move forward apart.

Ashley Neal
Post by Ashley Neal
September 13, 2021
Ashley is a marketing and communications professional with expertise in sales conversion, copywriting, and social media.