AI in Online Communities: Pros, Cons, and Future Possibilities

This Peers Over Beers discusses the potential benefits and drawbacks of artificial intelligence (AI) in online communities and customer support, as explored in a recent episode of the Peers Over Beers podcast featuring Nicole Saunders and Chris Detzel. 

In a recent episode of the Peers Over Beers podcast, community management professional Nicole Saunders and host Chris Detzel delved into the intriguing topic of artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential impact on online communities and customer support. Their engaging conversation touched on various aspects of AI, such as its challenges, possible advantages in content generation, and the impact on community management. This blog post will explore the key insights from their discussion, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of AI in the realm of online communities.

Challenges: AI Limitations and Historical Data Dependency

Saunders began by discussing one of the main limitations of AI: its reliance on historical data. AI language models, like ChatGPT, depend on data sets that may not include the most up-to-date information. Consequently, AI-generated content could contain errors or be out of touch with current events. For community managers, this limitation necessitates staying informed and verifying AI-generated content to prevent the spread of misinformation.

Potential Benefits: AI-Generated Content for Communities

Despite the limitations, AI-generated content offers several advantages for online communities. Saunders and Detzel discussed how AI could assist community managers by summarizing conversations, generating show or webinar summaries, writing descriptions, and even crafting tweets. Such assistance could free up valuable time for community managers to focus on other essential tasks.

However, Saunders and Detzel also emphasized the importance of caution when using AI-generated content. Community managers must validate the output to prevent the spread of errors or misinformation. AI-generated content can be a powerful tool, but it should not replace human engagement in online communities.

Impact on Community Management: New Roles and Future Developments

As AI and generative technologies continue to advance, Saunders suggested that new roles specializing in these technologies could emerge within community management. Detzel compared this potential development to the early days of social media when new roles like social media managers were created. The growth of AI in online communities may bring about significant changes in the field, necessitating adaptability and a keen awareness of technological advancements.

Integrating AI Responsibly

The insightful discussion between Nicole Saunders and Chris Detzel sheds light on the potential benefits and drawbacks of AI in online communities and customer support. AI offers promising advantages, but it also has limitations that community managers must consider. Staying informed about technological developments and being prepared for the potential impact of AI is crucial for community managers. By responsibly integrating AI and maintaining human engagement, online communities can harness the power of AI to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency.

Check out Revolutionizing Online Community Platforms with AI and ChatGPT

Creators & Guests

Host

Chris Detzel

Chris is a versatile Digital Community Strategist with several years of experience. He has owned community vision, strategy, and execution. He is responsible for leading the development and execution of community engagement programs, creating compelling content for customer communities and acts as the voice of the customer. He believes that data should drive decisions as it is the key element of any long-term successful strategy.

Guest

Nicole Saunders

As Director of Community at Zendesk, she oversee the Community Team (part of the Global Digital Experiences team), set strategy, define policy and governance, develop and launch new community products, and engage our user community. Our programs include: an online community, virtual events, user groups, community champions, customer advocacy, and an annual global virtual community summit.

What is Peers Over Beers - Community Experts Podcast?

B2B Community Strategist Chris Detzel is your host for this fun and straight shooting podcast for enterprise community leaders / managers and digital savvy professionals. With easy and natural inquisitive banter, your host will tackle hard issues facing community leaders and managers in their day-to-day struggles, and yes, sometimes over a beer. From starting new communities, digitally transforming enterprise culture, moderation, and globalization techniques are all up for discussion.

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In a recent episode of the Peers Over Beers podcast, Nicole Saunders, a community management professional, joined Chris Detzel to discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks of artificial intelligence (AI) in online communities and customer support. The conversation touched on various aspects of AI, including its challenges, possible advantages in content generation, and the impact on community management. This blog post delves into the key insights from their discussion.

AI Limitations: Historical Data Dependency

One of the main limitations of AI that Saunders highlighted is its reliance on historical data. AI language models like Chat Gpt, for example, have only been trained on data up to 2021, which may make them unaware of current events. Consequently, this limitation can lead to errors in information provided by AI-generated content, which might sound plausible but could be incorrect. It is crucial for community managers to stay updated and verify AI-generated information to prevent misinformation.

Potential Benefits: Content Generation for Communities

Saunders and Detzel explored the potential benefits of AI-generated content for communities. AI can assist community managers in tasks such as summarizing community conversations, freeing up time for other tasks. Detzel added that AI could generate show or webinar summaries, descriptions, and tweets, further enhancing the efficiency of community managers.

Caution in Using AI-Generated Content

While AI-generated content offers several advantages, Saunders and Detzel emphasized the importance of caution. Validating the output of AI-generated content is crucial in preventing errors and misinformation. AI-generated content can be a valuable tool for community managers, but it should not replace human engagement.

Impact on Community Management

The conversation also considered the potential impact of AI and generative technologies on community management. Saunders proposed that new roles specializing in AI and generative technologies could emerge within the field. Detzel drew parallels to the early days of social media, when new roles like social media managers came into existence.

The discussion between Saunders and Detzel offered valuable insights into the potential benefits and drawbacks of AI in online communities and customer support. AI promises significant advantages, but it also has limitations that must be taken into account. For community managers, it is essential to stay abreast of technological developments and be prepared for the potential impact of AI. By integrating AI responsibly and maintaining human engagement, online communities can harness the power of AI to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency.