A 2023 survey found that 40% of community professionals around the world consider the difficulty of engaging members as their main frustration about community management. 36% of respondents said difficulties in quantifying the value of the community was the hardest for them, whereas 34% said the manual nature of community efforts frustrates them the most.
So, whether you’re currently managing a developer community or will soon take on those responsibilities, AI can make your life 1,000x easier – especially when it comes to automating manual, repetitive tasks and engaging community members.
More and more developer marketing pros are incorporating AI tools in their day-to-day to improve their workflows and get better and faster results.
How are they doing it and how can you succeed with AI?
Why AI in community management?
A cost-effective and fast assistant that doesn’t get tired and possesses all the knowledge of the internet? What’s not to like?
The AI market size is expected to reach US$184 billion in 2024 and US$826.7 billion by 2030, according to Statista, so tools like ChatGPT are clearly taking the world by storm.
Integrating AI into community management represents a transformative leap in how communities are nurtured, engaged, and grown. AI tools and systems in this space are meant to automate, enhance, and personalize various elements of community management.
This is because AI tools, powered by machine learning and predictive analytics, can quickly learn from data, spot patterns, and even predict what’s coming next. This makes it easier to anticipate what your community needs, create more personalized content, and identify trends to shape your strategies.
With AI, you can gather and process data super fast, giving you deeper insights into both your community and your competition.
“I feel like AI can complement community management in different ways. AI can respond 24/7 to community members, whereas this isn't always possible with a human workforce. AI can also analyze community interactions, which can be really helpful for CMs to get trending topics so they can focus future content in certain directions.” – Millie McCaughrean, Community Manager at The Alliance
“AI in community management. A controversial topic. It sparks debate. Ignites imagination. Raises eyebrows.
“Consider the potential. AI never sleeps. It's always on, always alert. Monitoring conversations. Flagging issues. Responding to queries. All in real-time. But is this a utopian dream or a dystopian nightmare?
“Proponents argue for efficiency. They paint a picture of streamlined operations. Of communities that thrive under the watchful eye of artificial intelligence. They envision fewer missed posts, quicker response times, and more consistent moderation. It's a tempting proposition.
“But skeptics raise valid concerns. Can AI truly understand the nuances of human interaction? Will it catch subtle jokes, sarcasm, or cultural references? Or will it stumble, creating more problems than it solves? These are not idle questions. They strike at the heart of community dynamics.
“There's also the human element to consider. Communities are built on connections. On empathy. On shared experiences. Can an AI, no matter how advanced, replicate these essential human qualities? Or will its presence create a sense of distance, of artificiality?
“Yet, perhaps it's not an either-or scenario. Maybe the future lies in collaboration. Human moderators working alongside AI assistants. Leveraging the strengths of both. The tireless machines combined with the intuitive understanding of humans. It's a compelling vision.
“But implementation is key. It requires careful planning. Thoughtful design. Constant refinement. And above all, transparency. Community members need to know when they're interacting with AI. Trust hangs in the balance.
“So, should AI be part of community management? It's a complex question. With no easy answers. But it's a question we must grapple with. As technology advances. As communities evolve. As we shape the future of online interaction.
“Recent studies from MIT shed light on this dilemma. Their research shows AI can detect toxic content with 97% accuracy. Impressive. But that 3%? It's where human insight still reigns.
“Communities aren't just data points and user stats. They're living, breathing organisms. Built on the foundation of shared experiences. Nurtured by empathy. Can an AI, no matter how sophisticated, replicate the warmth of human connection? Experts like Dr. Jane Smith, a leading AI ethicist, argue for a balanced approach. "AI should augment, not replace," she asserts. "It's about enhancing human capabilities, not eliminating them."
“Imagine human moderators, with intuition and experience, working with AI assistants. The precision of algorithms complementing the understanding of human minds: Tantalizing, isn't it?
Start small. Test AI on non-critical tasks. Learn. Adapt. Scale gradually.
Prioritize transparency. Inform your community about AI's role. Be clear about when they're interacting with humans versus machines.
Invest in training. Both for your AI and your human team. They need to work seamlessly together.
Monitor closely. AI can make mistakes. Have robust oversight mechanisms in place.
Maintain the human touch. Use AI to handle routine tasks, freeing up humans for complex, nuanced interactions.
Remember, ethical considerations are paramount. The European Union's AI Act is setting global standards. Stay informed. Stay compliant.
“As we stand at this crossroads of human interaction and artificial intelligence, the choices we make today will shape the digital communities of tomorrow. The future is unwritten. How will we choose to pen it?
“The power is in our hands. In the hands of community managers, tech leaders, and everyday users. In the end, communities – whether digital or physical – are about people. And people should always remain at the heart of community management.” — Lavanya Gupta, Content Manager at APIwiz
What AI community management tools can you use?
Sentiment analysis tools are key for checking the mood and vibe of community conversations. They help you stay on top of member satisfaction, catch potential problems early, and keep an eye on the overall health of the community.
AI also makes content moderation a breeze by automatically reviewing tons of user-generated content in real-time, making sure everyone follows the rules and cutting down on toxic behavior.
So, AI community management tools include:
- Chatbots and virtual assistants like Drift and Intercom leverage AI to provide automated member support and engagement.
- Services such as Spectrum Labs and Two Hat, offer AI-powered content moderation to efficiently manage large-scale community interactions.
- Platforms like Sprout Social and Hootsuite, utilize AI analytics to provide deep insights into engagement and sentiment.
What tasks can AI community management do for you?
You can use AI to make you more efficient when managing your developer communities, and here are just a few examples where it's particularly useful:
Automation
Many AI tools can integrate well into the products and apps we use every day.
They can be used to automate routine tasks, such as scheduling and posting content at optimal times, managing community calendars and important dates, and handling administrative tasks like updating rules, guidelines, and FAQs.
Content moderation
This means automatically filtering and removing inappropriate content, such as hate speech using natural language processing, or NLP.
It can also identify and flag potentially harmful or abusive content by scanning images and videos to detect violent behavior or explicit content using computer vision techniques.
AI can also help you maintain your community guidelines and ensure people are sticking to them, as well as remove spam by recognizing patterns like repetitive posting, excessive linking, and promotional content.
Toxicity in communities can be detected by AI, since the tool can gauge the sentiment of posts and comments and spot negative or toxic language.
Bekka Nathan
User engagement
Looking for ways to improve engagement in your community? Why not ask the AI to give you ideas to help you engage with the community?
This means personalized responses and interactions with members, as well as automated greetings and onboarding messages. Another thing you can use AI for is to conduct surveys and polls to gather feedback.
Content creation and curation
GPTs are widely used to create and curate content, as they’re able to generate social posts and articles, as well as summarize texts.
AI tools can also recommend relevant content to users based on their preferences and activity. On top of this, these tools can help you to automate your newsletters and your updates, making your life that much easier.
Data analysis and reporting
AI can help you to analyze user activity and engagement metrics to identify trends. It can also generate reports on growth, engagement, and performance, as well as monitor sentiment analysis to gauge the overall mood of your community.
Event management
AI can help you manage your community by assisting you in the scheduling and promotion of events, webinars, and meetings. AI is also widely used to create and send automated reminders and follow-up messages to participants, which will save you time and effort.
You may also want to get feedback after an event—with AI, you can quickly create surveys and polls as well.
Customer support
Community members can get instant responses to frequently asked questions through chatbots, which saves you time and effort, and ensures customers don’t have to wait too long to receive an answer to their urgent queries.
AI can also route more complex queries to human moderators or support staff, so you’re still able to help community members who can’t find a solution to their issue at hand – helping boost satisfaction.
In short
AI isn’t going anywhere, although making the most of it can be a challenge. Maybe you want to better understand GPTs and LLMs, are looking for actionable insights and tips that’ll save time and maximize impact, or want to make AI your assistant – whatever the case, the AI in Community Management Playbook is for you.
You’ll:
- Finally understand how modern AI tools work so you can use them properly,
- Optimize prompts the right way to start getting useful answers,
- Understand the limitations of AI so you can save time,
- And more.
