CGA’s AI-Assisted Virtual Assistant

At Cowgirl Artists of America, we’re committed to supporting our artists, and members with clarity, professionalism, and heart. As we’ve grown, so has the volume of communication—and we want to make sure no one falls through the cracks.

To help us serve you more efficiently without increasing membership costs, we’ve added a new support role: Josie, our AI-assisted virtual assistant.

Josie helps us quickly draft friendly, helpful replies that align with CGA’s standards—extending our team’s capacity while maintaining quality. She’s a tool that supports efficiency—but she doesn’t have free rein. Real humans are involved at every step of the process.

Every email you send is read by a real person and every email you receive is reviewed, edited, and approved by a real person on the CGA team. You are still speaking with a real human.

• Josie does not have access to CGA's inbox, internal systems, or any private or sensitive information.
• Every message to info@cowgirlartistsofamerica.org is read by a real person.
• Josie drafts replies that are reviewed, edited, and approved by a real person and guided by CGA’s values, policies, and professional standards.
• You are still talking to real humans. Josie simply helps us be more efficient by drafting helpful replies quickly.
• Please remain respectful—a real person is reading and replying (with help). We're here to help. From time to time, a team member may reply directly without using Josie. In those cases, they’ll sign their own name so you know it’s coming from a specific person on the CGA team.

We believe in combining technology with real, grounded, human care. And we think Josie does just that—by helping us serve more people, more consistently, without losing the human touch.

During open art calls, we often receive a large number of emails—many from artists who haven’t fully read the prospectus or are confused about certain elements. Our small team used to spend significant time replying to the same questions, often repeating existing information.

Step 1: Review the inquiry When an artist emails us with a question, a team member reads the original message and shares the email text with Josie.

Step 2: Josie drafts a response Josie uses the current prospectus and guidelines to generate a draft reply tailored to the artist’s question and needs.

Step 3: Human review and refinement A real person on our team checks the draft for accuracy, clarity, tone, and alignment with CGA’s values and professional standards. They may make edits, request a revision from Josie, or add extra context.

Step 4: Final message is sent Once the reply is finalized, it is copied and pasted into our response to the artist.

This process helps us respond efficiently without sacrificing quality or human oversight.

Running a national organization with a small team (and a tight budget) means we have to work smart. Our AI-assisted approach allows us to:

• Respond faster and more consistently
• Reduce administrative workload
• Keep membership fees accessible
• Provide friendly, helpful, and timely information
• Create consistency in support and information requests
• Free up time and keep forward momentum by reducing bottlenecks in information sharing—so we can focus on what truly matters: supporting artists and expanding opportunities, education, and community connection

At CGA, we believe AI should be used ethically and intentionally. We do not support the use of AI to generate visual artwork, creative writing, poetry, or other original forms of artistic expression. Art should come from the artist.

While tools like Josie can be helpful for editing, clarity, or organizing thoughts, we strongly discourage using AI to write artist statements or bios. These are deeply personal reflections of your voice, perspective, and story—they deserve your full authorship. (AI can be used to give feedback and help with refinement, sentence structure, and grammar.)

AI-generated content can sound polished, but sounding good is not the same as being true or meaningful. Artists should not give AI free rein in their creative practice or writing. At CGA, we encourage our members to use AI responsibly and sparingly—as a support tool, not a creative substitute.

Josie works well in her role because her responses are formulaic, fact-based, and tied to practical logistics—not creative content or emotional expression. That’s a crucial distinction we intend to uphold.

Got questions? Email us at info@cowgirlartistsofamerica.org