In this episode of Associations NOW Presents: Industry Partner Edition, recorded live at ASAE's Marketing, Membership, Communications + Tech Conference, guest host Sharon Pare of HighRoad Solutions welcomes Erica Salm Rench, chief marketing officer at Sidecar, for a conversation about helping associations navigate the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence. Erica shares why AI presents a unique opportunity for associations to compete more effectively, discusses the importance of educating staff and aligning AI initiatives with organizational strategy, and offers practical guidance on building AI literacy, selecting the right tools, and adapting to the growing influence of AI-powered search.Check out the video podcast here:https://youtu.be/3tyPPP_4yXU Associations NOW Presents is produced by Association Briefings. TranscriptSharon Pare: [This episode today is sponsored by Sidecar. We're recording today from ASAE's MMCT conference in Washington, DC, where association professionals from across the industry are gathering to share ideas, build connections, and explore what's next for the community. I've got the perfect expert with me today, Erica Salm Rench.She's really leading the association industry in all things AI. A lot of you might have heard of AAIP, their certification program. They're part of the Blue Cypress family. But before we kick all of that off [We'll get to that in a minute, but you're celebrating your 15-year wedding anniversary today. Erica Salm Rench: I am. Oh, yeah, that was a fun fact- Yeah ... that we shared right before. Yeah. So I will see my husband later this evening, which is great. He'll get some time with me. It seems like a fair trade-off, though, to be at MMCT.This is so fun. Sharon Pare: Yes. And then I have another thing. You were talking to me a little bit about your hotel. You know how when you travel a lot, I know for work. And everyone has their ritual when they get back to the hotel and what they do. Is there any things that you need to do? I'll give you an example.So for me, when I'm traveling alone in a hotel room, I always have to sleep with Friends on. Do you have something like that you do? Erica Salm Rench: You and I are two peas in a pod. I usually have Friends on in the background, or I always make sure I have snacks with me in my purse, because I feel like a lot of times the hotel snacks, they're not as healthy or nutritious as you [Yeah. So I always have nuts packed or protein bars in my purse, and then I lay out my snacks so that I have something in the morning to wake up to.Sharon Pare: Okay. Yeah. I love it. Okay, so I wanna talk about MMCT, but before we get into it, you did win an award this year with AWTC, the Technology Leadership Award.Tell me a little bit about that and what that award meant for you. I was there. I was really excited to see you win that. Erica gives a great speech, by the way. She's a great speaker. Erica Salm Rench: Thank you. I was so humbled by it. It was so exciting.I was just overwhelmed by the award, and Rebecca and Carrie and Jill, and the amazing women at AWTC. They do such a good job of bringing women together and empowering them, and they truly filled a gap in the association space. It is [Sharon Pare: I was just going to ask- Erica Salm Rench: Oh my ...Sharon Pare: What did you think about that? Erica Salm Rench: You li