A recent survey released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce revealed that roughly 40-65% of U.S. small businesses were using some form of AI by late 2024 into early 2025.
Now, this number is going to change region-by-region, but’s definitely going up.
As I go around the country working with chambers, I’m seeing a number that’s probably on the lower end of that range…
But, still, much higher than it was a year ago.
Which is great.
Small businesses are probably the ones who can make the most out of enhancing their AI skills to do more, and do things better.
In our opinion here at Momentum AI, chambers can – and should – play a significant role in increasing that percentage.
We’ve all taken on the mission of helping businesses in our community succeed and thrive.
Well, in 2025 and beyond, AI is how they succeed and thrive.
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The day that OpenAI made ChatGPT available to the public, we dove in headfirst.
Our thought was that our peers in the chamber world didn’t necessarily have the time to be on top of what promised to be rapidly-advancing technology day-in and day-out.
So… We committed to learning everything we could, and sharing it with you.
To date, we have trained more than 700 chambers of commerce throughout North America on integrating AI into their operations.
MOMENTUM AI WEBINAR (FREE FOR CHAMBERS):
MODERNIZE YOUR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WITH AI – APRIL 30
Our niche is presenting AI in a way that’s engaging, informative, eye-opening and offers real-world, day-to-day applications for chamber life.
That’s important: there are lots of AI trainings out there, but if the trainer hasn’t walked in your shoes, they just don’t have any way of knowing what your every day looks like, to help you solve problems.
We do. We’ve done it – in fact, we’re doing it, as I’m currently serving as interim executive director for the Niagara USA Chamber of Commerce.
Are we doing everything I’m going to tell you in this blog?
You bet we are!
AI = RETENTION
The small business adoption rates for AI technology are interesting, but also provide significant opportunity for chambers to “be there” for their members.
You and I both know that we go through our chamber careers CONSTANTLY trying to find ways to show tangible value to our members…
The kind of value that makes their renewals a no-brainer.
AI is it.
There is no more game-changing thing that you can teach your members that will have them coming back for more.
And, importantly, if you don’t do it… Someone else will.
You do not want to be in the position where your small business members are giving you $300, but someone else is giving them education and tools that lead directly to growth for their companies.
You don’t want that.
If you haven’t already taken charge on the AI front, now’s the time.
How do you do it?
Glad you asked…
5 STEPS TO BEING THE AI LEADER YOUR MEMBERS NEED
The beauty of taking a leadership role in AI is that it’s not difficult.
It may seem overwhelming – I hear directly from chambers all the time about their challenges…
But AI is evolving.
You don’t need to stay light years ahead of your members, and be glued to tech papers and keeping up with every piece of AI news that comes out.
No, you just need to provide them value.
We’ve learned that in the trenches…
I guarantee you right now – even if you’re using AI on a daily basis – I can give you 4-5 things to do with AI that you’ve never even considered.
How do I know? Because each month, we do FREE AI trainings for chambers, and there’s a reason people who have already been through our training keep coming back.
Like I said… We’re going to stay on top of all of this, so you don’t have to.
Great example: Remember all the problems with AI-generated letters and numbers in your images?
Dripping letters and misspelled words and what-not?
Did you know that just a week or so ago, OpenAI upgraded its image generation technology, DALL-E, so that those are problems of the past? (It’s actually really awesome – you should check it out!).
But, to be what your members need you to be, we’ve outlined five (5) easy steps for you:
USE AI
To have credibility in this area, you need to show that you believe what you’re saying.
When I started teaching AI, I’d ask people who was already using it… 3 or 4 people would raise their hand.
Now, pretty much every chamber is using it somehow – usually for copywriting.
That’s good… It’s a major time saver.
We always want to take you to the next level, where you’re not just using AI to save time, but to get more done, and do things better.
Being able to tell your members that you solved a problem, increased revenue or became smarter about your own daily work is powerful – and inspiring.
They are out there facing the same attitudes and pre-conceived notions as you are/were.
They’re thinking about data security.
They worry about “turning their work over to a machine.”
Their folks are thinking about being perceived as lazy.
Those hold-ups are keeping them from thriving – and, unfortunately, with the pace of the technology, competing.
What better to get a doubter over the hump than seeing someone they trust using AI to do great things?
TEACH AI
Here’s where the rubber meets the road.
As chambers, we go out of our way to educate our members… New regulations, HR best practices, social media, you name it.
Let me ask you this… Why are so many chambers NOT educating their members on perhaps the most important small business tool, well, ever?
I will say it: AI is the most important thing you can be teaching your members right now.
The. Most. Important.
And… It’s easy.
If you don’t have the skills in-house yet, there is most certainly someone in your membership who does.
MOMENTUM AI’S TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE RIGHT AI SPEAKER
Book a morning session and title it “AI for Small Business,” and you’ll get 30 people in the room.
This is why chambers keep bringing me in to speak to their members…
Because it’s important, it’s timely, and it’s what your members want to know!
Most importantly, they’ll start to look to you as an innovative leader – simply because you’re giving them new technical skills they don’t have.
This is not “talking about” AI… We’ll get to that.
I see WAY too many sessions where speakers talk about cool AI stuff for an hour and then send attendees on their way.
Don’t let them say, “I didn’t get much out of it.”
No, this is about hands-on, sleeves rolled up workshopping.
Make it good. Make it useful. And they’ll see you as THE resource that changed their company’s trajectory.
TALK ABOUT AI
The third component is what we call “thought leadership.”
Bottom line is… AI is here, and it’s becoming more and more a part of everyone’s lives, whether they want it or not.
Chambers are in a unique position to help people understand that: where it is now, and where it might be going.
Again, if you’re not holding these discussions, someone else will.
What’s great is that, unless there’s someone like me in town doing this stuff – or, if your community already had a designated AI club or such – no one else is going to cover AI from the small business, operational side.
The universities won’t – they want to show off how they’re changing the world.
The tech groups are too techy. They get into the weeds (and over small businesses’ heads).
No, the chamber is well-positioned to be the conduit for taking this often fear-inducing concept, and breaking it down for everyday use by busy professionals.
POSITIONING YOURSELF FOR THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
There’s a few ways to get at this:
- Chambers are all good at forums and events. Do a panel. The beauty is that if your speakers have a modicum of expertise and are willing to forecast… They’re probably going to be right in what they say, with the speed of AI advancement.
- Partner with another organization that may be ahead of you on AI, but will be able to translate what they do to your members. It lends a lot of credibility to your own efforts, plus you get points for collaboration.
- Create an AI roundtable, and invite enthusiasts from your membership to participate. We just kicked this off at the Niagara USA Chamber, and the first meeting was a big hit – it’s now a monthly thing.
Whatever direction you go, make it big!
Tell a big story and plant your flag on the topic.
STAY ON TOP OF AI
I said before… You’re busy, and I know you don’t necessarily have time to be reading up on AI stuff every day.
I know this because when I talk with chambers, most of them (probably 75%) say that AI “has been a game-changer” for them, but…. They’re still using the free version of ChatGPT.
If your organization doesn’t have $20/month for a “game-changer,” then I know you’re not going to dedicate the time and energy to learning how to use it to its fullest potential.
Note: Notwithstanding, you SHOULD be using the paid version. Not only do you get better features, but you can also turn off data sharing – which you can’t do in the free version. Nothing is “free.” ChatGPT is helping you, yes, but it’s also taking your data. Think about graduating to ChatGPT Plus.
This is where we step in, at Momentum AI.
Our mission is to help you stay on top of AI, by curating the things you need to know.
When I said we’re in it to win it, we most certainly are.
See, we don’t mess around with the $20/month version… We’re into ChatGPT Pro – which is a cool $200/month. Yikes!
Guess what? As a small business, we check every dollar that goes out to make sure that it comes back 10x…
ChatGPT Pro? Made my investment back the first afternoon. Incredible.
That being said, do you need that level? No.
LET US HELP!
I tell you all that because we’re staying at the forefront of AI, and we’re sharing the good stuff with chambers. How?
- AI Keynotes, like we’re doing for the Alabama Chambers Association this month, and the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals in May.
- AI Presentations, like we’re doing over next several weeks in Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Ohio.
- We are consistently posting on LinkedIn what we’ve learned, and also have AI for Chambers groups on both LinkedIn and Facebook.
- We started an AI for Chambers YouTube Channel to give some visuals on tools created specifically for chamber life.
- And, we keep in consistent communication with our network of more than 700 chambers who have gone through our trainings, making sure that we’re keeping them apprised of what’s new, what’s cool and what’s most important.
That’s our commitment to you, our peers in the chamber world.
USE AI TO HELP YOUR MEMBERS
Finally, if you really want to be a leader in this topic, you need to find ways to visibly use AI to the benefit of your members and your community.
That means taking things to the next level…
How can you use AI and data to better serve your members?
What problems can you help them solve using AI, and not having to pull your team away from other important work?
How can you SHOW your members that you’re forward-thinking and innovative to serve them better?
MOMENTUM AI FOR CHAMBERS
This is exactly why we created the Momentum AI platform for chambers of commerce.
Picture this:
- Your new member joins and is given a QR code to go to a form
- They enter some information about themselves and hit submit
- AI immediately returns to them a customized, personalized growth strategy for their membership with you
- At that same moment, behind the scenes, you get invaluable data from your members, and AI analysis to better serve them.
Sound good? Would that cause some jaws to drop?
Well, we know the answer to that question because Momentum AI is already getting those reactions at chambers who have subscribed.
WHAT’S THAT MEAN FOR YOUR CHAMBER?
Let me break that down for a moment, though:
First, you know as well as I do that members hate doing surveys. So, how to we get them to do them? We give them an AI analysis for their efforts – trained on your chamber, so it tells them exactly how to interact with your unique offerings and programs (including where they should put sponsorship $$$, if they’re so inclined).
Second, the more data you have from your members, the better you can tailor those offerings and programs. Our algorithm is designed to call these out for you, look for trends, and give you the scoop that they might not be telling you in-person.
Third, look back up at those four steps. I want you to note something important… Your team does not have to lift a finger. The members tell their story, they get their report, and they go on about their business.
I have poured more than 20 years of chamber experience into this platform.
Interestingly enough, this is the original service that my company, Momentum, did (still does)… Creating customized strategies for companies for their chamber memberships.
It was only the power of AI that has allowed us to scale this, and allow more chambers to connect with more of their members to build fruitful, impactful relationships.
Want to see Momentum AI in action? Check this out:
WHAT’S NEXT?
I threw a LOT at you here… But we’re here to help. How? Lots of ways.
First and foremost, I’d encourage you to check out the Momentum AI platform – schedule a call with me and let me walk you through everything it does.
I’ll be honest with you… There’s a good window here.
On April 22-23, I’m speaking about AI to the Alabama Chambers Association, then two weeks later at the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals.
That’s a couple hundred chambers that I’m going to be in front of, talking about everything we’re working on and doing demos of the powerful Momentum AI tool we’ve created… I’m hoping to be busy in the weeks after.
If you’re interested in knowing more…. Please connect with me right away.
A walkthrough only takes about 15 minutes.
When you subscribe, setting your chamber set up takes me about three hours’ time, and within a few days, you’re up-and-running and ready to start sending your members into the portal.
Now’s the time to get me – before the conferences.
There’s no strings attached… If I don’t wow you in a 15-minute call, then there’s still a bunch of other steps I gave you above that can put you where you need to be.
And… I’m happy to help you with those, too!!!
Every implementation step I listed above we’ve done for multiple organizations, and continue to do so.
We love this stuff, and want you to have what you need to be THE AI leader in your community…
And, especially for your members.
Stay in touch – craig@momentumhub.ai!!!