Joining the growing number of associations using customized LLM and AI tools, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association launched its own variant, ELFie, last week.

Described as an “an AI-powered knowledge assistant” in a release, ELFie uses knowledge materials from ELFA and its related Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation to provide real-time guidance for members on questions relating to the industry. (The tool operates under a freemium model: Though the public can ask ELFie three questions per day, deeper inquiries are members-only.)

ELFie has been in development for a year, said ELFA VP of Membership Marketing Julie Benson, MBA, CAE. “Last year we did a tech audit, where we at the association were encouraged to evaluate our technology offerings and find ways to enhance member value and member engagement, and be more efficient.”

Providing ways for members to access relevant industry information faster emerged as a top priority following the data audit, leading to ELFie’s development. “As the industry becomes more data-driven, AI tools like ELFie are helping to play a crucial role in helping industry professionals process large volumes of information to identify trends and make strategic decisions,” Benson said.

ELFie is designed to help industry professionals process large volumes of information to identify trends and make strategic decisions.

ELFie is trained exclusively on ELFA and Foundation materials, Benson said, and does not use member data or store any personal information.

Though ELFie officially launched last week, it had a soft launch at the association’s conference last October. Since then, ELFA has been tracking user engagement with the tool to determine potential tweaks, and also to determine what kinds of information members are most eager to come to ELFie for.

“After every question and every response, users have the ability to give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to responses, and to provide additional context about why they’re giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down,” Benson said. “And on the analytics side, one of the reasons why we’re so excited to launch ELFie is that as an association, you’re always gauging what are the most important resources we can provide to members. ELFie helps us identify the most pressing questions and concerns our members have. That’s going to help us improve or enhance what we currently offer, and then identify areas where we could develop new products and services.”

To other associations considering developing a similar tool, Benson recommended exploring needs within its community, and ensuring that multiple leaders within the association have an opportunity to weigh in.

“You first need to define a clear use case for incorporating an AI tool into your organization, and it’s really important to align it with your organization’s mission,” said. “You also want to make sure you have representation from different departments so that everyone’s on the same page about the ultimate goal of your AI tool. Obviously, have members test it out, providing feedback on their user experience. Lastly, start small—pilot specific areas of your content, refine that, and then scale it up so you can ensure a smooth integration of your AI tool.”

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