What over 100 membership professionals told us about AI – and what we taught them.
On Friday 13 March 2026, Intercloud9 co-hosted a Membership World webinar with David Hancox, Chief Operating Officer at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). Over 100 professionals from across the membership and professional body sector signed up to hear an honest account of how CIOB moved from AI curiosity to a structured, responsible AI strategy – in under 12 months.
This article captures the key lessons. Whether you attended or are coming to it fresh, here is what we covered – and what it means for your organisation.
Where the sector stands right now
We opened with data from the Membership World State of the Nation report (IMIS Research, 400 respondents, 2025). The picture it paints is one of a sector caught between individual momentum and organisational hesitation.
- 62% of membership professionals are already using AI regularly
- 39% say their organisation uses AI – a 23-point gap
- 49% feel technologically prepared for the future
- 13th where AI sits out of 20 organisational priorities
The sector’s workforce is quietly experimenting. Most organisations haven’t yet built the frameworks, governance, or strategic clarity to harness that activity. That gap is not just interesting – it is a risk.
AI wins the priority conversation. CRM still wins the budget conversation. The direction of travel is clear. The pace is still catching up.” – Jen Watkins, Co-Founder, Intercloud9
One stat that provoked particular discussion: 57% of your members – the people your organisation exists to serve – already say AI is changing how their own companies operate. Their expectations of you are being shaped by their daily experience of AI at work. That is not a future consideration.
Before engaging Intercloud9, CIOB was at what David described as the ‘exploring stage’. Staff were using tools like ChatGPT informally and inconsistently. There was genuine curiosity at board level, but no formal policy, no shared language, and no organisational framework.
We knew we needed a properly thought-out approach – because there’s a real risk of spending members’ money unwisely in this space.” – David Hancox, COO, CIOB
What moved it from conversation to commission was a recognition that doing nothing was itself a risk. Member expectations were shifting. Peer organisations were starting to move. And with a new Chief Executive joining who had digital innovation as a clear priority, the timing was right to understand exactly where CIOB stood before committing resource.
What the AI audit revealed
Using Microsoft Purview’s AI monitoring tool over a four-week period, Intercloud9 found over 7,000 AI-related interactions across CIOB’s organisation of around 200 staff – 56% via Microsoft Copilot and 44% via external tools including ChatGPT.
AI was already embedded in day-to-day working. The question was whether to let it continue without structure – or get ahead of it.
A staff survey of 113 respondents (around 60% response rate) revealed strong engagement, largely positive attitudes, and a consistent theme: people wanted clarity and training, not restriction.
The five-stage approach
Intercloud9 structured the engagement in five connected work streams:
- AI maturity assessment
- Opportunity analysis
- Governance framework
- AI vision and strategy
- 12-month implementation roadmap
AI maturity assessment
Rated across five domains (leadership and strategy; people and skills; data and infrastructure; governance and risk; ethics and responsible AI) on a 1–5 scale. CIOB scored an overall 2. The goal was not to reach 5 – it was to move to 3 within 12 months, addressing the most significant risks along the way.
Opportunity analysis
Workshops with staff across departments surfaced 25 potential AI use cases. Each was assessed on strategic alignment, delivery effort, data readiness, risk, and whether it could be delivered within the organisation’s current maturity. Crucially, some items turned out to be non-AI problems – process issues fixable without any new technology.
Governance first
Governance came before the roadmap. Without the right control frameworks in place, you cannot safely deploy anything. The framework covered an updated AI usage policy (encouraging use of approved tools, setting out when approval was required), clear accountability for AI governance, and an explicit invitation for staff to experiment – safely.
Six priority use cases
Selected from 25 on a balance of risk, maturity requirements, staff readiness, capacity, and whether existing projects could be leveraged. One standout recommendation: an AI and automation hub – a lightweight internal resource containing approved tools, guidance, and a community for staff to learn from each other.
It’s an organisational, people-first project. It doesn’t start with the technology.” – David Hancox, COO, CIOB
Managing staff concerns
The webinar drew particular interest on the human side of adoption. CIOB found that member-facing teams were more anxious about AI than back-office functions – a pattern familiar to many in the sector.
David’s approach was to lead with intent. The AI vision is explicit that this is about improving member service and operational effectiveness – not reducing headcount. The example he gave was telling: rather than a customer service agent answering 50 routine renewal queries a day, AI handles the transactional load so the agent can have better, more proactive conversations with members.
CIOB has also established AI champions in each department, runs monthly organisation-wide updates on progress, and is launching a staff hub with a curated training curriculum.
What the audience wanted to know: Q&A highlights
How do you stop staff blindly using AI?
Clear policy and guardrails, not prohibition. Make sure staff know what tools are approved and why. Invest in ongoing education – quarterly updates, shared successes, and (importantly) shared failures. If something doesn’t work, say so and move on.
What about smaller organisations with limited resource?
Start with individual productivity and the Microsoft toolset. You do not need the full governance architecture CIOB built – but you do need to understand where AI is being used and what the risks are. Get the foundations right with tried and tested tools before scaling.
How do you avoid investing in solutions that quickly become obsolete?
Contain scope tightly. Build momentum incrementally. Have parallel conversations with your software vendors about their own AI roadmaps – many are building AI into existing platforms, which may make a custom build unnecessary within months. A 12-month roadmap is the right horizon; a two-year one is not.
The one thing David would say to leaders sitting on the fence.
Don’t wait for perfect conditions. You won’t have all the answers – but you need to start. Understand where you are, then pick use cases that will make a real difference to your members and your team. And don’t start with the technology.” – David Hancox, COO, CIOB
The organisations best placed in two years’ time are the ones starting the structured work now – not waiting for certainty that will not come.
Useful resources & next steps
We have made a number of practical tools available as free downloads on this website, including our AI capability and maturity framework and governance document templates. If you would like to talk through what an AI readiness engagement could look like for your organisation, contact us at hello@intercloud9.co.uk.
The recording of this webinar is available on request. We are also running a repeat session on 14th April 2026 – register via Membership World.
