Sometimes a problem and a solution are standing right next to each other. They just need an introduction.

In VoterVoice’s 2025 State of Advocacy Report, 34 percent of the respondents said they were concerned about their “team size being too small.” Later, the report notes that 32 percent of respondents said they don’t use AI.

Of the people who were concerned about team size, nearly half (46 percent) don’t use AI. For those respondents, I’m excited to provide four easy ways to use AI to increase your productivity and create high-quality work.

First, let’s define what I mean by “use AI.” For the activities called out in this post, I recommend one of two sources – OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude. These are both free tools, or you can pay $20 per month to have your content kept private and not used for training their AI systems.

Treat these tools like a junior staff person on your team. Give them clear direction and put them to work. You’ll be amazed at what they can do for you in just seconds.

Time-Saver #1: Let AI Write the First Draft of Your Content

We all know it’s easier to edit something than to start writing from scratch. Let AI write your first draft for you. This could be for an email to volunteers or members, a newsletter article, or many other things. Sit down at your keyboard and type instructions for the AI just like you were emailing the assignment to that junior staffer. Tell the AI what you want it to write, a desired format, and preferred length and style. 

What comes out will not be perfect, but you’ll have created a draft within 30 seconds rather than 30 minutes or longer. Now comes the important part. Just like you would with your staff, provide AI with detailed feedback on how the draft should be improved. Thirty seconds later, you’ll have your next draft.

You can go back and forth several times or step in and finish the draft yourself. AI will never get you all the way there, so there will always be a need for a human to fact-check the content and give it that final polish.

Pro Tip: Upload or attach some of your previous writings so AI can instantly learn to write in your style. 

Time-Saver #2: Let AI Edit and Improve Your Existing Draft

Sometimes you write a first draft and you know it still needs more work, but you’re out of time or stuck on how to improve it. In the past, you had to choose between using an imperfect copy or delaying its completion while you put out other fires. AI can help you transform that draft from meh to marvelous in just minutes.

Similar to asking AI to write your first draft, begin by typing a prompt that states what you want to achieve and the parameters for achieving it. Then copy and paste your first draft into the prompt and ask AI to recommend improvements. 

Provide the AI with feedback on its suggestions and ask it to write a new draft for you. And don’t forget to ask AI for email subject lines, report titles, or whatever little pieces you need to finish off the assignment.

Pro Tip: Add this line to the end of your prompt: “Do you have any questions before you get started?” Then answer the questions it provides. This will lead to a more effective response.

Time-Saver #3: Use AI to Re-Purpose Content

You’re ready to launch the next phase of your campaign. You wrote an email to your volunteers and members, but you still need a text message, social media content for three platforms, and a website article.

Let AI do all that ancillary writing for you. Simply write a prompt telling it what you need, paste your email content into the prompt, and provide any specific instructions you want it to follow. For example, if you want to include a call-to-action or prefer that your Facebook post be a certain length. In seconds, you’ll have first drafts for each item.

Pro Tip: In your prompt, remind the AI to “Follow the best practices for maximizing engagement for each of the social media platforms. Each platform is very different, and the content should reflect that.”

Time-Saver #4: Brainstorm Tactics With Your AI

AI can do more than write. If you’re creating a new campaign, ask AI to help you brainstorm for tactics that will engage your audience and influence lawmakers.

Pretend you’re leading a brainstorming session with a large team. Type a prompt that includes how you would start that conversation. What is the problem you want to solve? Who is your audience? What is your budget? What are the opportunities and challenges?

After AI’s first response, provide it specific feedback on which ideas you like or don’t like and why. Then ask it to provide more ideas similar to your preferred tactics. You can even ask it to take those ideas and write a detailed implementation plan or draft the content you’ll need to execute it.

Welcome AI To Your Team

If you’re a small advocacy team that hasn’t yet embraced AI, you’re missing out on a simple and inexpensive way to exponentially expand your advocacy team’s productivity. While you’re burning the midnight oil writing that third version of your action alert, organizations using AI are driving more actions, running more campaigns, and increasing their impact.

The beauty of AI is that it doesn’t replace your expertise — it amplifies it. You still bring the political intelligence, the relationship management, and the strategic thinking that wins campaigns. AI just handles the time-consuming tasks that keep you from focusing on what matters most.

Your team may be small, but with AI as your newest team member, your impact doesn’t have to be.

Brian Rubenstein, president of Rubenstein Impact Group, helps nonprofit organizations build powerful grassroots programs by increasing volunteer engagement in advocacy campaigns and developing sustainable volunteer leadership programs. He served as the featured expert in the advocacy and lobbying chapter of the newly released book, AI for Nonprofits. You can follow him on LinkedIn at in/brianrubenstein and contact him at brian@rubensteinimpact.com.