[1] The organization adheres to Twelve Traditions that emphasize anonymity, the absence of a hierarchical structure, and principles of being free to all, non-promotional, non-professional, unaffiliated, non-denominational, and apolitical.

Rowland Hazard’s journey from Carl Jung’s psychiatric treatment to spiritual conversion through the Oxford Group played a pivotal role in shaping the foundations of Alcoholics Anonymous, influencing its principles of recovery.

[10][11][12][13] Back in America, Hazard went to the Oxford Group, whose teachings were eventually the source of such AA concepts as "meetings" and "sharing" (public confession), making "restitution", "rigorous honesty" and "surrendering one's will and life to God's care".

He became converted to a lifetime of sobriety while on a train ride from New York to Detroit after reading For Sinners Only by Oxford Group member AJ Russell.

Bill W. would later write: "The early AA got its ideas of self-examination, acknowledgment of character defects, restitution for harm done, and working with others straight from the Oxford Group and directly from Sam Shoemaker, their former leader in America, and from nowhere else.

[25] Bill W. explained that alcoholism affects the mind, emotions, and body, a concept he learned from Dr. Silkworth at Towns Hospital in New York, where he had been a patient multiple times.

[38] As the growing Fellowship faced disputes over structure, purpose, authority, and publicity, Wilson began promoting the Twelve Traditions.

[39] In 1951, A.A.'s New York office expanded its activities, including public relations, support for new groups, services to hospitals and prisons, and cooperation with agencies in the field of alcoholism.

[44] In July 2024, AA launched its first UK-wide advertising campaign with a unique approach—no logos, phone numbers, or links—focusing on subtle messaging like "You Are not Alone" and "Alcohol isn't the Answer."

The campaign, created by The Raised Eyebrow Society, aims to attract people struggling with alcohol without violating AA's principles of anonymity and non-promotion.

It offers guidance and strength through prayer and meditation from God or a higher power of their own understanding; take a moral inventory with care to include resentments; list and become ready to remove character defects; list and make amends to those harmed; continue to take a moral inventory, pray, meditate, and try to help other alcoholics recover.

The second half of the book, "Personal Stories" (subject to additions, removal, and retitling in subsequent editions), is made of AA members' redemptive autobiographical sketches.

"[51] Somewhat divergently in his introduction to The Big Book, non-member and early benefactor William Silkworth said those unable to moderate their drinking suffer from an allergy.

They start with members admitting to being "powerless over alcohol" (which the Big Book calls an "Illness" or "malady", but never a "disease’’), and out of control—for which on going divining and following the will an unspecified 'higher power' ("God, as we understood Him") could restore them to "sanity".

[62] Following the helper therapy principle, sponsors in AA may benefit from their relationship with their charges, as "helping behaviors" correlate with increased abstinence and lower probabilities of binge drinking.

These Traditions foster an altruistic, unaffiliated, non-coercive, and non-hierarchical organization, limiting A.A.'s mission to helping alcoholics at a non-professional level while avoiding publicity.

Inclusivity is a core principle of AA meetings, which welcome all alcoholics, though some are tailored to specific demographics such as gender, age, profession, or cultural background.

Meetings in the United States are held in a variety of languages including Armenian, English, Farsi, Finnish, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish.

AA members celebrate Founders Day on the weekend closest to 10 June, marking the anniversary of the organization with thousands of attendees engaging in tours of historical sites, sharing recovery stories, and participating in related activities in Akron, Ohio.

In Ireland, Shane Butler noted that AA's lack of top-level leadership might make it seem unsustainable, but its structure has proven extremely robust since its establishment there in 1946.

The Eighth Tradition permits AA to employ "special workers" for roles that require specific expertise or full-time responsibilities, such as administrative tasks.

Calls from alcoholics seeking assistance are always passed on to sober AA members who have volunteered to handle them, ensuring the program remains grounded in its peer-to-peer support model.

[104][105][106] A 2020 systematic review indicated that manualized AA and Twelve-Step Facilitation (TSF) therapy yields more healthcare cost savings and leads to higher continuous abstinence rates.

[b][8][107] A longitudinal study suggests that LifeRing and SMART Recovery fared worse than AA across several outcomes, however, the effects are insignificant when controlling for the baseline alcohol goal of total abstinence.

[c][8][114] Nick Heather, an addiction researcher, critiqued the review, arguing it may have a sample bias and that it failed to measure outcomes like quality of life or alcohol dependence, which are important for evaluating recovery.

Such ideas are described as "Counter-Enlightenment" because they are contrary to the Enlightenment's ideal that humans have the capacity to make their lives and societies a heaven on Earth using their own power and reason.

To be all-encompassing, AA's ideology emphasizes tolerance rather than a narrow religious worldview that may make the organization unpalatable to potential members and thereby limit its effectiveness.

In response, AA groups and Zoom implemented stricter access controls and guidelines to protect participants and maintain a welcoming atmosphere for those seeking help.

[167][168] In May 2017, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc. filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York seeking the return of the original manuscript of the Big Book from its then-owner.

[175][176] Others who have spoken publicly about their AA attendance include James K. Baxter,[177] Art Carney,[178] Bonnie Raitt,[179] Mychal Judge,[180] Moby,[181] Hank Azaria,[182] Matthew Perry,[183] Jim Irsay,[184][185] Demi Lovato,[186][187] Elton John,[188] Tom Waits,[189] Capers Williamson,[190] among others.