AI’s Impact on Member Behavior and How Associations Can Adapt

Associations are always looking for ways to enhance member value and stay relevant – that’s nothing new. What is new is the way artificial intelligence (AI) is changing people’s online behavior. A lot of articles explore AI use cases that can help streamline different jobs or ways to use AI to get answers fast. But something important for associations to remember is it’s not just your staff who are looking for ways to use AI to make their work easier, it’s your members too.

To continue being seen as a relevant resource, you have to consider and adapt to how members (and potential members) are using AI.

This blog post will explore the impact of AI on the way people look for information, and how you can help your association defend its position as a go-to resource in this changing environment.

A Shift to Conversations Over Search

AI is impacting the way people search for information. One of the most common use cases for AI is asking questions. Instead of going to traditional search engines like Google, people can now ask a question in AI tools like ChatGPT and get an immediate, contextually relevant, user-friendly answer.

“Seeking information can be more like having a conversation with an expert,” says Higher Logic CEO Rob Wenger. “Instead of Googling something, you can ask ChatGPT a question, get a direct answer, and ask follow-up questions to drill down deeper.”

This is more efficient than search engines, where you might have to sift through pages of search results. You ask a question and get an immediate answer. Users also appreciate that AI tools like Copilot or ChatGPT are ad-free (for now), offering a cleaner and more focused experience.

This efficiency appeals to busy professionals and members of associations who need quick, reliable information.

AI and SEO

If you’re someone who thinks about your organization’s search engine optimization (SEO), you might be starting to worry about how this use of AI for search will impact your organization’s organic search traffic.

Gartner predicts traditional search engine use will drop 25% by 2026. Add to that, Google shared that 20% of mobile searches are now by voice, with this only expected to increase because of improved responses as a result of AI.

Less people asking their questions via traditional search methods means less people browsing search results that could lead them to your content, website, and organization. That means less people potentially discovering the value of your association, if you don’t adapt.

If you don’t position yourself as a better (or complementary) resource than AI now, your members and potential members could stop coming to you for answers because they think they can get them faster from AI.

The Rise of AI-Generated Content

Content generation is another common use case for AI, and a significant portion of the content people create and consume online now involves at least some AI assistance. While this trend offers efficiency, it also creates a risk of stagnation in creativity and originality. If AI dominates the content we can find on the internet, unique voices and innovative ideas will be lost.

AI only generates content based on existing information, so this leaves a gap when it comes to new ideas, personal experiences, and thought leadership.

“AI is trained on pretty much all of the world’s publicly available web content,” says Rob. “But it can’t really get any smarter without humans. It’s not doing research. It doesn’t have lived experience or think outside the box. So, what happens when you have a question and the answer hasn’t been recorded anywhere on the internet yet? That type of information is in the brain of a human somewhere.”

For associations, this presents an opportunity. Associations have long been a source of thought leadership, peer-to-peer connection, knowledge sharing, and collective problem solving – none of which AI can replace. It’s time to lean into these attributes to show members and potential members the unique value you offer.

Building on Your Existing Value to Members

So how do you adapt to AI’s impact on online behavior? And how can you use AI to help you do it?

Associations need to establish themselves as authoritative sources of information and community connections. You can do this by:

• Creating and controlling original content (including member-generated content).
• Personalizing communication and recommendations to deliver unique and targeted value.
• Jumping on this NOW so you have time to collect enough content and establish or defend your position as a go-to resource for your intended audience before AI becomes the default.

Generating Irreplicable Content

To compete with AI chatbot searches and AI overviews (AIO), you need to leverage the value of human discussion and community engagement. Personal relationships and human interactions are crucial for maintaining loyalty and providing member value that AI cannot replace.

A recent study by The Verge, Vox Media’s Insights and Research team, and Two Cents Insights supports this, suggesting that the future of the internet lies in smaller, trustworthy online communities. People are still looking for places where they can make connections and discuss their work.

“Your online community gathers all the experts on a specific topic in one place. These are all the people uniquely suited to discuss new challenges and innovations – and an online community makes them accessible, digitally,” says Rob. “That’s something ChatGPT just doesn’t have. And when you give these people a place to connect, they’re generating tons of valuable content for your association and their peers.”

By harnessing this value, you position yourself as the perfect resource for those questions and needs that AI simply can’t answer.

Strategically Using AI in Your Community

You can also increase the value of your community by making it easier for members to quickly find what they’re looking for. If people like the efficiency of asking AI a question and getting a direct answer, why not build that right into your community search?

“Your online community is full of deep insights that regular AI chatbots don’t have access to,” says Rob. “But it can sometimes be so full of information that it’s hard for members to find answers quickly. I think of it like a signal to noise ratio – if there’s a lot of background noise, it’s harder to hear the signal you’re actually looking for. With an AI chatbot built into your community, pulling its responses from the rich human expertise there, users can have the best of both worlds. Members can still browse and engage in discussions on the community when they want, or have it delivered to their inbox, but when they’re looking for something specific, AI can help them cut through the noise.”

Leveraging Data for Direct and Personalized Communication

In addition to facilitating connections with peers, one of the other values associations have always provided, and should lean into now, is highly relevant content and communications.

Many people join associations to learn more about their field and advance their careers. Specialized advice and knowledge for their role isn’t necessarily something that’s widely available (nor do members always want to chat with people outside of their profession when they have highly technical questions). So, most associations are already partway there in terms of having answers and resources people can’t get from AI.

But something that’s more important than ever is segmentation and personalization. It is imperative that you monitor and use your member data. Through your online community, marketing automation, learning management system (LMS), and other platforms, you have a wealth of information about members’ needs, preferences and behavior. That data gives you exactly the insights you need to improve your communications and proactively share content with members based on their interests.

“Sometimes when we talk about marketing automation, or marketing in general, people think it’s self-serving. But when it comes to associations, you’re almost always communicating and marketing things for your members’ benefit,” says Rob. “They’re essentially paying their membership dues and saying ‘keep me up to date on what I need to know in my field.’ They want to learn, advance in their careers, and see the opportunities most relevant to them. And they’re paying you to bring those opportunities to them so they don’t have to find what they need entirely on their own.”

Tailoring the way you talk to different member segments, and the content you share, based on member behavior makes them feel more engaged and understood. That’s the key to making your organization an irreplaceable partner and curator, who members trust to give them the best resources.

The Urgency to Act

AI tools present both opportunities and challenges for associations. Even if you’re not using it yet at in your own work, organizations need to be thinking about how AI is impacting their audience and their relevancy.

Users’ online behavior is changing, and it’s important for associations to change with it. As people move away from googling things or start using voice capabilities to ask questions on their phones, they will become more and more reliant on this method. If associations don’t establish themselves as better than (or, more accurately, useful alongside) AI tools, the window may pass them by.

The good news is, the key to success lies in building on what associations already do well: specialized information and human connections. But the longer you wait to optimize these values, the harder it will be to adapt.

“The later you implement something like an online community, the more you’re missing out on. Members start discussions in online communities daily. That means every day, every month, every year, they’re creating more and more of these highly relevant and valuable conversations. So, when you don’t have an online community, not only does that mean your members are missing out on that benefit, it means you’re missing out on the opportunity to learn from that content. You could miss millions of interactions and tons of information about your members and that’s something you can’t get back.”