As they wait for clear rules for the use of artificial intelligence to be written in the wake of President Biden's recent
One reason they're doing this is to stay competitive and relevant:
Many of the honorees in American Banker's
For instance, after seeing a 32% increase in Hispanic members, Unitus Community Credit Union in Portland, Oregon, enlisted the help of the New York-based financial technology firm Glia to develop a Spanish-language chatbot for the growing market segment, explained Corlinda Wooden, senior vice president and chief retail officer for Unitus.
The chatbot is designed to support the $1.7 billion-asset credit union's staff of more than 50 Spanish-speaking representatives by anticipating member questions based on past inquiries using AI and directing customers to the services they need. This and other chatbots across the organization have handled more than 3,660 engagements and responded to roughly 90% of overall interactions since December 2022.
"AI helps the bot better understand misspelled questions, what a member may be looking for when they're not specific and how to improve response times," Wooden said. "AI is a powerful tool in addressing questions in a culturally relevant manner as well," using the language from each message to better understand a member's respective dialect.
Great Lakes Credit Union in Bannockburn, Illinois, deployed its conversational AI tool named "Olive" this year to provide more consistent support to members at all hours of the day. Account holders can call into the credit union to access Olive for help with queries such as transferring funds between accounts and monitoring the clearance of Social Security checks.
Elizabeth Osborne, chief operations officer for the $1.3 billion-asset Great Lakes, said in responses submitted last month that the credit union plans to further explore the market through OpenAI's ChatGPT software with the goal of tailoring member-facing marketing campaigns and other messages.
"In essence, our goal is to utilize this enhanced technology to create a more interconnected, efficient and personalized experience for every GLCU member," Osborne said.
Use cases for AI extend beyond the realm of customer service, of course. They include
Verity Credit Union in Seattle, Washington, partnered with the Burbank, California-based lending software firm Zest AI this year to create new approval processes for credit cards, personal loans, lines of credit and auto loans that incorporate non-standard banking data from an applicant, said Tonita Webb, chief executive officer of Verity.
Webb explained that by expanding access to traditional banking products, and lowering the barriers for new members, the $837 million-asset Verity can provide underbanked consumers with added opportunities for improving their credit and overall financial wellbeing.
"This was a critical step to expand credit access to underserved communities, and further our mission to provide fairer lending practices and increase opportunity for all to prosper financially. … An important facet of expanding who can create generational wealth," Webb said.
"Our organization is not afraid of these new technologies, but embracing the change, and leveraging these enhancements and solutions to create safe and personalized member experiences," said Lindsey Myhre, executive vice president and chief financial officer for the $5.8 billion-asset Spokane Teachers Credit Union in Liberty Lake, Washington. "If we continue to serve members the way we've always served them, we will fall behind and become obsolete."
