Most impact leaders know AI is changing and reshaping many contours of our economy and lived experience. Fewer feel confident putting it to use in their day-to-day work.

On February 3, NationSwell hosted a group of peer leaders for a virtual roundtable focused on immediate, practical applications for AI on impact teams. Together, we explored how leaders are using generative AI – and increasingly agentic AI – to increase speed, clarity, and capacity in core workflows like reporting, communications, grantee engagement, operations, and more.

From day to day low-lift use cases to opportunities for mission delivery, the session surfaced plenty of actionable insights for implementing AI within teams and organizations; a selection of those insights appears below.

Key Takeaways:

Anchor AI adoption in user-centered design from day one. AI tools are far more likely to succeed when they are built with a deep understanding of end users, informed by diverse perspectives, and tested for usability. Grounding AI in user needs reduces failure rates and drives adoption, especially as many digital transformation efforts fall short.

Start with low-risk, high-return AI use cases to build momentum. Impact teams are already gaining value by using AI for summarization, synthesis, reporting, and more. These applications save time, require minimal technical lift, and help teams build confidence before moving into more complex AI-enabled workflows.

Use AI to augment human judgment, not replace it. The strongest applications position AI as a thought partner that accelerates analysis and surfaces insights, while leaving critical thinking and strategy to people. Reviewing outputs, checking sources, and applying human judgment remains essential to responsible use.

Embed AI into products and systems to reduce friction at scale. When AI is built directly into platforms, such as grantmaking and employee engagement, it can automate administrative work, surface patterns, and recommend next steps. This allows impact leaders to focus more time on mission-critical work.

Treat AI as a capacity multiplier in resource-constrained environments. With impact teams being asked to do more with less, AI is increasingly a necessity rather than a nice-to-have. Thoughtful adoption can expand organizational capacity, accelerate access to funding and services, and ultimately drive greater impact.

Apply advanced use cases of AI to unlock insights for decision-making. AI-powered analysis of geospatial and time-based data can help organizations anticipate risks, target interventions, and allocate resources more effectively. Whether modeling climate impacts, forecasting service demand, or tailoring workforce strategies, AI can be used to better understand needs and deliver more responsive, targeted support to your communities.

Unlock new capabilities from off the shelf tools.  Big unlocks don’t require developing a full stack AI solution. Fully leveraging the existing capabilities in off the shelf low/no cost LLMS, while protecting sensitive data and respecting organizational policies, present opportunities for major advancements in productivity and impact. Be sure to check out voice to text capabilities for braindumping, deep research modes for research and insights, and experiment with Claude for writing.