AA is a fellowship centred on Twelve Steps, which are about establishing a relationship with a power greater than ourselves.
Sometimes people come to AA and rail against the 'higher power thing' or try to strip the 'higher power thing' out of AA.
Sometimes, people pussy-foot around the 'higher power thing' for fear of offending others. Sometimes, noisy people will attack those who talk about the higher power or God, offended that the subject is even brought up.
The result is that, frequently, the higher power does not get mentioned at all in an AA meeting, and the whole point of AA's existence is confounded.
There are lots of agencies which help alcoholics using various approaches which do not involve a higher power. Their doors are wide open, and they are successful with a great number of people.
AA seems to work best when it sticks to what it is good at and what it is uniquely equipped to do: helping people to find a power greater than themselves to solve their problem.