By Roy Urrico
The $2.3 billion San Jose, Calif.-based Meriwest Credit Union gained substantial business results by tapping into artificial intelligence (AI). The credit union launched its new AI-powered intelligent digital assistant (IDA), called Scout, using New York-based Kasisto’s conversational AI platform (KAI) in February 2023 to align with its digital banking platform conversion.
“Implementing Scout has been an incredible value-add for our members and our Meriwest team,” said Gene Fichtenholz, vice president of digital strategy and engagement at Meriwest Credit Union, which serves over 80,000 members across the San Francisco Bay Area and Pima County, Arizona. The credit union started in 1961 as the IBM San Jose Employees Federal Credit Union, changed its official name to Pacific IBM Employees Federal Credit Union in 1975 and to Meriwest Credit Union in 1999.
“We are encouraged by our members' positive response to Scout,” said Fichtenholz. “Our data shows that, on average, members engaging with Scout demonstrate 30% more profitability compared to other digital banking users. This remarkable trend highlights the value of our partnership with Kasisto and our dedication to enriching the banking experience through innovative solutions.”
Kasisto CEO Zor Gorelov also commented, “The banking and credit union industry faces no shortage of challenges — from rising interest rates to customer retention. We strongly believe that the ability to tap into the power of AI is what will distinguish the leading banks and credit unions in the years to come, from both an efficiency and a revenue growth standpoint. Our work with Meriwest is a clear representation of how business and member goals can align through the implementation of this technology.”
Finopotamus spoke with Fichtenholz and Gorelov to gain some insight behind this implementation.
Setting Up Kasisto at Meriwest
The Kasisto AI chatbot project commenced in October 2022. “Meriwest’s team completed the upfront work required to introduce Scout with only a modest time investment of approximately 120 hours,” Fichtenholz told Finopotamus
“We invested thoughtful planning into designing the right look and feel, naming, and creating the digital assistant so that it would be engaging to members and would reflect the Meriwest brand in a very approachable way,” explained Fichtenholz.
Through a series of design iterations and internal focus groups, the marketing team led by Teresa Caseras, vice president of marketing, successfully developed a conversational AI persona, characterized by a friendly and helpful demeanor.
“We brought Kasisto to life as Scout, visually represented by a stylized and creative personification of the letter ‘M’.” commented Teresa Caseras, Meriwest’s vice president of marketing.
Fichtenholz explained during the first six weeks after the February 2023 launch, Scout successfully managed a workload equivalent of more than two representatives. This allowed the credit union to redirect that extra capacity back into the contact center when the Meriwest member care team needed it most.
Today, Scout regularly assists approximately 7,000 active members. More than 30% of Scout’s member interactions occur during non-working hours.
How Scout Works and What It Does
Members engage Scout from within their authenticated digital and mobile banking experience. Scout utilizes natural language understanding (NLU) to comprehend and reply to queries.
“To establish a connection and foster a sense of familiarity with new users, our digital assistant proactively outlines its capabilities, demonstrating the various tasks it can assist with in the digital banking environment,” explained Fichtenholz. He added, “This helps to break down barriers for anyone who may be slightly intimidated by technology or who is less savvy with digital channels.”
Fichtenholz noted Scout’s integration within the Meriwest digital banking platform (provided by NCR) allows the AI chatbot to access all the data and functions delivered through that system. When called upon, Scout appears with a friendly greeting that invites interaction. Scout can also provide a personalized financial wellness snapshot and offer recommended links to specific information, based on the specific member’s past usage patterns as well as any financial topics trending at the time.
Scout can handle an assortment of requests and questions, ranging from simple account information to details about Meriwest products and service offerings. Members most commonly use Scout to ask about: basic account details, payment Information, member services, and account opening. Scout also requests and collects member feedback that the Meriwest team can monitor and address.
What Does Scout Provide?
“Scout allows Meriwest members to get the financial answers they need, accurately and efficiently. The introduction of a helpful, banking-savvy assistant into an otherwise self-service channel results in a better, more complete digital experience for members,” said Fichtenholz. “The goal is a happier and more loyal member base for Meriwest.”
Fichtenholz also pointed out, “With Scout’s approachable nature, we have been able to appeal to some members who may be less likely to engage with new digital technology. By partnering to give members more options for interacting with the credit union, Meriwest and Kasisto are demonstrating how we continually strive to anticipate and meet the changing needs of the member base.”
Meriwest, according to Fichtenholz, also realized an increased capacity in the credit union’s contact center, “saving it around 430 hours of telephone calls in a month of peak demand, which we experienced during conversion to a new digital banking platform.” He added, “The KAI portal, which is what we use to manage and monitor Scout, gives us insights into the ways that our digital solutions are working, how they are performing, and where we can do a better job of meeting member needs.”
Meeting the Industry Challenge
Gorelov explained Kasisto was founded in 2013 “with a vision of improving financial literacy and well-being for all.” The company now serves nearly 60 banks and credit unions across tiers and segments, in 16 countries around the globe.
Gorelov revealed KAI, which he said had its origins at the Stanford Research Institute (creators of Apple’s Siri), uses some of the most advanced NLU available today. Gorelov described KAI IDAs as “humanized, AI-powered digital bankers who have mastered the language of banking and are financially literate.”
The Kasisto CEO added KAI the knowledge gleaned during the past decade. “As we have successfully facilitated well over 140 million conversations, each focused on sharing personalized financial knowledge.” He said the KAI platform is software as a service (SaaS)-based and available in multi-tenant and private cloud configurations.
This past spring, Kasisto launched a new generative AI solution – KAI-GPT, which it said is the first large language model (LLM) purpose-built for banking. “Respecting the bankers’ need for technology solutions that are accurate, trusted, transparent, and customizable, this LLM provides a safe and secure way for bankers to easily access and apply comprehensive banking-specific information,” said Gorelov. Along with this LLM, Kasisto introduced KAI Answers, a ChatGPT-like application that allows banking employees to rapidly search through vast amounts of financial data and documentation.
Explaining Conversational AI
“At its heart, banking is a relationship business, and our technology must help to deepen relationships among bankers and their customers and members. Unlike AI solutions that operate strictly behind the scenes, crunching numbers and conducting data analyses, our conversational KAI products are front-and-center in establishing and maintaining the financial consumer relationship,” said Gorelov.
Additionally, Gorelov noted, “KAI products are designed to make it easier for bankers to interact with their customers and members, to exchange information more efficiently, and complete tasks more effectively. With that in mind, we obsess about both user experience and financial brand.”
From a user experience standpoint, Kasisto recognizes that people would rarely choose to interact with a robot over a human being. “So, we work to create the most relatable digital assistants possible, aiming toward delivering delightful, even memorable conversations every time,” Gorelov stated.
Gorelov pointed out the no-code KAI portal’s design enables the creation of a high-quality, state-of-the-industry digital assistant fully integrated with a financial institution’s digital banking platform with a minimal time commitment. He added, “This capability can provide a great advantage to community banks and credit unions who are often competing with larger national and super-regional banks in their footprint.”
Said Gorelov, “Our digital assistants are tightly integrated with live chat systems. This enables seamless transitions and collaborative three-way conversations among banking consumers, the digital assistants, and the member and customer care representatives, leading to better engagement for all parties. After launching digital assistants, some clients have realized more than a 70% reduction in live chat volumes.”
IDAs can also positively impact member and employee engagement for credit unions, Gorelov further explained. “As members relate to these tools in a more personal and engaging manner, they explore more services. The increase in profitability that Meriwest has realized is a great example of this indirect benefit.”
Gorelov added, “Members who remain loyal and satisfied with a financial institution generally become more profitable, leading to a win-win situation where their contentment with the services provided translates into increased profitability.”