Using AI to accelerate content creation without sacrificing authenticity, credibility, or member trust.

Every association communications team is feeling the same squeeze: produce more content across multiple channels with the same staff. AI tools can be a lifesaver, providing the ability to write an article, draft a newsletter, outline a member email, and turn a webinar transcript into five different pieces of content before lunch.

But results vary. You could end up with content that is clearly AI-generated—and worse, doesn’t reflect your association’s unique voice.

A vague prompt can result in content that is technically correct but lifeless: generic and full of phrases no one would ever say out loud. Members can tell, and so can sponsors and your board. And once an audience decides your content sounds hollow, it is hard to win back the benefit of the doubt.

The associations getting real value from AI are using it in smart, productive ways that enable them to produce messages that resonate with their specific audience.

Start With What AI Doesn’t Know

AI models are trained on the internet at large. They do not know your membership or your industry. And not having that insider information is what produces generic AI content—when there is nothing specific to work with, the model defaults to whatever sounds plausible.

The more information you provide, the closer you’ll be to getting content that works for you. Leverage your existing data by feeding in whatever is relevant to what you are producing. At a base level, providing your website in the prompt gives the AI tool a wealth of information to crosscheck against to make sure your industry is well represented. You could also provide the link to your digital magazine or blog, if one exists, or your conference site so AI can mine the sessions that were presented at your last conference. You could include member survey results, a transcript from a board discussion, last year’s highest-performing email—the list goes on. The more specific material you provide, the less the AI has to invent, and invention is where it drifts into cliché.

Use AI for Drafts, Not for Final Content

The fastest way to get content that sounds professional and natural is to stop asking AI to produce a finished piece and start asking it to provide starting-point information. Ask it to provide an article outline—or if you have it generate an article, use that as a base to craft your own unique copy.

Once you have a closer-to-final draft, use AI to generate several headline and subhead choices, and to create key takeaways. Each of those is a narrow, well-defined task that still allows you to make adjustments so the voice is authentic and clear. Asking it to write the whole newsletter from a one-line prompt requires AI to make dozens of small judgment calls about tone, audience, and priority, which can lead to general content that doesn’t provide a lot of value.

Create an Association Style Guide

To keep your association’s tone and style consistent, create a style guide that clearly defines what you want. Include specific guidance on tone, audience, preferred language, and the level of formality you expect.

Include two or three sample paragraphs that capture the voice you want, along with a list of words and phrases to avoid. If your content follows AP Style or uses specific rules, such as avoiding serial commas, add those guidelines, too. If your association sticks to specific areas of expertise, include that information. Your association’s mission statement is another good addition to this guide.

Then, every time your team writes a prompt, have them upload the style guide. This keeps your voice consistent across writers and channels, which makes a big difference in public perception.

Edit Out the Tells

Certain phrases have become AI’s verbal tics: in today’s fast-paced world, delve into, unlock the power of, navigate the landscape, it’s important to note. Other tells include the “if not this, then that” construct, as well as formulaic three-item descriptive lists, and a closing paragraph that starts with an unnecessary “in conclusion” subhead. Fragment sentences and overly punchy copy are also tells of AI writing.

To combat these tells, you can always be proactive and ask AI to avoid the typical tells, either through your prompt or in your style guide. If a contributed piece reads as AI, run the copy through that prompt.

Since, ideally, anything you’re creating is using AI only for drafts, you can also manually edit and personalize the content, fixing any obvious tells along the way.

A good final step is to read drafts out loud before they are published. If a sentence is something you would never actually say to a member at a conference or on a call, cut it or rewrite it.

Add Details for Specificity

Providing specific association details will always make your content stronger. To strengthen your writing, feed in specific association data: your annual report, output from a focus group, a specific outcome from last quarter’s webinar series. These details give your writing specificity and substance. A piece of content built around real, specific evidence reads as authoritative no matter how it was drafted.

Choose AI for the Right Situations

In some cases, generating AI content doesn’t make sense. In cases like crisis communications, sensitive board decisions, or anything where the words themselves carry legal or reputational weight, an authentic human voice is best. Once that message is drafted, AI can still help hone the message so it’s clear and professional, but it should be written authentically.

The Real Payoff

Your ultimate objective is to use AI tools thoughtfully and purposefully, enabling your communications team to create content that both informs your audience and strengthens connections across your organization. When applied strategically, AI can streamline routine tasks, allowing your staff to focus more on high-value, strategic work that drives your association’s growth.

About The Author

Robin Lamerson is a Strategic Content Manager at Naylor Association Solutions and Managing Editor of Association Adviser. Reach her at [email protected] or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Photo courtesy of VZ_Art/Shutterstock.com.