Tips for Adopting AI as a Content Partner

Generative AI has taken the business world by storm, and those associations that have dared to embrace the technology are reaping the results. It’s been less than two years since the November 2022 launch of ChatGPT. That launch set the stage for a barrage of other generative AI models and a multitude of new ways of work for content creators.

For associations, embracing generative AI as a content partner—when done strategically and ethically—saves time and elevates the quality of content, according to Lisa Cunningham, director of marketing content and communications for the International Coaching Federation. Cunningham says AI has become an integral part of her work processes, developing strategic messaging initiatives to communicate ICF’s story to the world.

Use AI as an In-House Aid

At ICF, an international organization serving a wide array of both member and nonmember audiences, “content creation can be very time-consuming,” explains Cunningham. Last year, she became an early adopter of generative AI. Her team began using ChatGPT “as a tool to reduce the amount of time we spend creating content,” she says. They leveraged AI to assist in identifying story ideas and creating outlines prior to the writing phase and in creating marketing messages, emails, newsletters, and other communications, says Cunningham.

As new AI models came to market, Cunningham’s staff tested various options. ICF now leverages several generative AI tools, including Claude, Jasper, HyperWrite, and Anyword. These tools assist the ICF team with content optimization and customization; text enhancement and refinement; and idea generation and collaboration.

Today, “we’re using generative AI for help with everything,” says Cunningham—video scripts, emails, newsletters, blog articles, and more. She finds the AI to be particularly helpful in suggesting eye-catching subject lines for emails. “AI has reduced the amount of time the ICF team spends producing content,” she says, “and has increased engagement with our emails.”

For longer content pieces, Cunningham recommends that AI be limited to brainstorming or the initial ideation phase or to ask for an outline; the final content should be written by a human. She warns that all AI-generated content should be reviewed by a human. “AI is a tool—not a replacement for our skills,” she says. “We know our associations and our members best; that’s where AI is lacking. We can weave our core values, missions, and visions throughout what we produce” in a way that AI cannot.