Harnessing AI for Membership Organisations: Insights from Hart Square’s Webinar

AI is already reshaping membership organisations, but many professionals are still wondering: Where should we start? What’s realistic? What are the risks?

That was the key focus of a recent Hart Square webinar, where Pixl8 CEO Alex Skinner joined Alan Perestrello and Joyce Harmon from Hart Square to explore real-world AI applications.

The conversation covered everything from automating admin tasks and improving decision-making to AI’s impact on member engagement and organisational strategy. Here’s what we learned.

AI: A Tool to Enhance, Not Replace

The speakers were clear that AI is not here to replace staff but to support and augment their work.

Alex Skinner set the tone early on:

“AI isn’t about replacing people—it’s about making their work smarter, faster, and more impactful. It’s an assistant, not a boss.”

One key theme of the discussion was that AI is only as useful as the data and strategy behind it.

Alan Perestrello highlighted the importance of taking a practical approach:

"AI has actually been around for quite a while. It’s just that, actually, with the launch of generative AI over the past 2 or 3 years, the real interest has spiked."

So where is AI already making a real difference?

Where AI Is Delivering Value for Membership Organisations

Personalising Member Journeys – AI helps surface relevant content and ensures members see what matters most to them.
Automating Admin Tasks – AI can manage renewals, event registrations, and triage common member queries, freeing up staff time.
Data-Driven Decision Making – AI doesn’t just collect data—it finds meaningful patterns that humans might miss.
Enhancing Knowledge Management – AI-powered search tools help members find the information they need faster.

But the conversation wasn’t just about opportunities—the speakers tackled real concerns from the audience.

Audience Q&A: The Big AI Questions

The audience asked insightful, practical questions, leading to some of the most engaging moments of the webinar.

Q: “We don’t have an AI strategy yet. Are we already behind?”

Alex reassured attendees:

“Not at all. AI is moving fast, but that doesn’t mean you should rush in blindly. The best approach is to start small—pick one or two low-risk areas where AI can make an immediate impact.”

Alan Perestrello noted the importance of taking proactive steps:

"There are risks. There are issues, and we've spoken about those in the previous sessions... But the opportunities are there. And now is the time to start thinking about how to leverage those opportunities."

Q: “How do we get our data AI-ready?”

This was a hot topic, and Alex had a straightforward response:

“If your data is messy, AI won’t magically fix it—it’ll just make messy insights faster. Start by making sure your CRM and knowledge bases are clean, structured, and accessible. AI loves good data.”

Alan added a real-world example of AI-powered data insights:

"I was talking to a very well-known animal-focused membership body, and they were looking at how they could possibly expand their offering. They brought in some data scientists who used AI to trawl through their data, and actually part of the response was: you pretty much have reached everybody in your captive market. There are no new people in the UK you could reach. So actually, your opportunity to grow and expand your organisation is through product development and service offering, not through reaching new people."

Q: “What about AI and member trust?”

One attendee raised a key concern about maintaining trust when using AI-driven content and decision-making. Alex highlighted why transparency is essential:

"Transparency is key. If AI is helping to generate content, members should know. If it’s being used for decision-making, there needs to be a human oversight process. The second you try to ‘hide’ AI, that’s when trust starts to erode."

Getting Started: Alex’s AI Playbook for Membership Organisations

If you’re unsure where to begin with AI, Alex recommended these steps:

Identify a real problem – AI works best when solving specific challenges, not just for the sake of it.
Start small & low-risk – Automate a simple admin task before tackling complex AI-driven projects.
Focus on data quality – Clean, structured data is the key to making AI work effectively.
Educate your team – AI adoption is smoother when everyone understands how it fits into their roles.
Keep AI assistive, not autonomous – AI should support decision-making, not replace human judgment.

Final Thought: AI Is Here—How Will You Use It?

AI isn’t the future—it’s the present. Membership organisations that start experimenting with AI now will be the ones best positioned to innovate in the years ahead.

Alex summed it up perfectly:

"AI is like electricity—it’s everywhere, powering things in the background. The question is: are you plugged in yet?"

You can watch the full webinar on demand here.

If you’re looking for practical AI solutions for your membership organisation, Pixl8 is here to help. Let’s start the conversation about how AI can work for you.

Get in touch with Pixl8 to explore AI-powered membership solutions.