Introduction

As credit unions adapt to the rapidly evolving financial landscape, the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) to drive innovation and efficiency has never been more critical. Our recent survey, conducted prior to the roundtable discussion on "The AI Advantage – Driving Innovation and Efficiency in Credit Unions," sheds light on how these institutions are approaching AI integration. Here's what we've learned from the leaders at the forefront of this technological transformation.

Survey Overview

We gathered insights from 12 credit union leaders who shared their perspectives on AI familiarity, implementation, and the challenges they face. The survey aimed to tailor the roundtable discussion to the specific needs and interests of these leaders, ensuring a focused and productive conversation on AI's potential in the credit union sector.

Key Findings

AI Familiarity and Adoption

• Familiarity Levels: A majority of respondents (50%) are somewhat familiar with AI applications within credit unions, while a smaller fraction (16.67%) consider themselves very familiar. This suggests a growing interest and baseline knowledge in the sector, but also highlights the need for deeper understanding and education.
• Implementation Status: Among the leaders, 41.67% have implemented AI in specific areas of their operations, indicating selective adoption. However, broad-based integration remains limited, with only 8.33% using AI across multiple facets of their organization.

AI Use Cases

• Popular Applications: The leading application of AI is in member engagement, including chatbots and virtual assistants, with 58.33% adoption among the surveyed groups. Other notable areas include credit underwriting and marketing, each garnering 50% usage. This reflects an inclination towards leveraging AI to enhance customer interaction and decision-making processes.
• Operational Impact: Operations and data analytics are also significant, with around one-third of respondents acknowledging the use of AI in these domains. This underscores AI’s role in streamlining processes and deriving insights from large data sets, essential for strategic decision-making.

Challenges and Opportunities

• Integration Challenges: A staggering 83.33% of respondents identified integration with existing systems as a major hurdle, highlighting the complexity of retrofitting legacy systems with advanced AI technologies.
• Barrier to Adoption: The biggest barriers include a lack of internal expertise and unclear ROI from AI projects, each cited by 33.33% of participants. These factors suggest that credit unions are cautious, weighing the potential benefits against the costs and challenges of AI adoption.
• Strategic Opportunities: When asked about the greatest opportunities AI could bring, responses were evenly split among improved member experience, increased operational efficiency, and faster lending decisions, each at 25%. This diversity in expectations reflects the multifaceted potential of AI to transform different aspects of credit union operations.

Conclusion

The survey reveals a cautious yet optimistic stance towards AI among credit union leaders. While familiarity and adoption are on the rise, significant challenges remain, particularly in terms of integration and expertise. As these institutions continue to navigate their AI journeys, the focus should be on building internal capabilities and understanding AI's tangible benefits to fully harness its potential for innovation and efficiency.