Since launching a 24/7 chatbot last November to help customers, Loyalty Credit Union in Pensacola has handled more than 18,000 calls without the need to transfer them to a human agent. That's nearly 27,000 minutes of helping members autonomously, says Jessica Herring, vice president of member experience at Loyalty, which has more than 19,000 members.
An intelligent automation program at Suncoast Credit Union in Tampa saved 50,000 hours in 2024, or 24 full-time employees worth of capacity, says Michael Parks, Suncoast's CIO.
This year, Suncoast also launched an AI-powered voice agent named Emma that phones members in the early stages of a financial challenge before they've missed multiple payments. "Emma" will listen to them, discuss payment options and can help establish a "Promise to Pay" arrangement. If the customer would rather speak with a live employee, they can opt out at any time.
Credit unions around Florida continue to turbocharge their use of AI while they also balance how the technology changes the skills they need in employees.
"A working knowledge of AI should become part of basic professional literacy in financial services," says Jim Adamczyk, senior executive vice president and COO of Fairwinds Credit Union in Orlando.
Like its peers, Fairwinds is using AI for boosted fraud protection and detection, contact center support and for more productivity.
Yet as groundbreaking as AI tools might be, there's a balance between using them for efficiency and keeping a human touch.
"A working knowledge of AI should become part of basic professional literacy in financial services." — Jim Adamczyk, senior executive VP and COO of Fairwinds Credit Union
"It's not used to replace judgment, relationships or decision-making," says Galen Counselman, senior vice president and CIO of PenAir Credit Union in Pensacola, with more than 134,000 members. "Rather than branding AI as a standalone program, we treat it as one of many modern tools that support our teams in doing their jobs well. ... We don't use AI without human interaction, review or accountability."
Data security, privacy, regulatory compliance and appropriate oversight are also challenges as credit union executives blend AI into their systems, he adds.
Fairwinds leaders have helped address these challenges with the use of an AI-specific strategy that provides clear ownership, governance and integration into the credit union's operational plans.
"That matters because once AI moves from interesting tools to real business capacity, you need accountability and real governance," Adamczyk says.
Moving forward, credit union leaders find it hard to pinpoint how AI will change their workflow.
"If you had asked me two years ago what 2026 would look like, I wouldn't have gotten it right," Parks says. "The pace of innovation is exponential, not linear, and every breakthrough compounds the next one."
Yet these executives insist that it won't take the place of their people. It will just change the type of work they do.
"Routine tasks will decline, while judgment, empathy and relationships become more valuable," Adamczyk says. — By Vanessa Caceres