"Treatment" is a medical term: management and care of a patient or the combating of disease or disorder. There are various medical treatments for alcoholism, selection based on severity of the disease at diagnosis.
AA from the perspective of medical "treatment" is considered a support group, a psychosocial intervention. It is obviously highly recommended by the medical community. However, it is not considered a treatment for acute alcohol dependency, a serious medical condition.
A "tool" is something used in performing an operation or necessary in the practice of a vocation or profession. In that respect the AA steps are tools, to be used in the practice of sobriety. Working the steps is the solution to the problem. I am a firm believer in AA. We should be careful not to suggest that AA takes the place of medical "treatment" for acute alcoholism.