The intelligence is artificial, but AI-based training is yielding real results at Premier America Credit Union ($3.4B, Chatsworth, CA).
The California cooperative moved its branch staff to a universal banker model a few years ago and wanted to help employees level up their skills at facilitating conversations with members, says Tamara Scott, vice president of retail delivery. As leadership designed a two-day relationship-building class, Robyn Bilauca, the credit union’s manager of talent development, suggested using AI to augment the course and reinforce the curriculum.
Why It Matters
Credit unions, like nearly all other fields, continue to seek out use cases for AI. Others have used it for underwriting or crafting job descriptions or marketing materials, but Premier America’s implementation is an early indicator of the HR capabilities the technology can provide.
Over a six-month period, Bilauca built the training course and then passed it along to AI vendor Second Nature, which worked the training into an AI model that allows employees to interact with a virtual member before they work with real members.
The AI member can show up as friendly, less than friendly, inquisitive, and more, and staff receive a grade each time they complete the course. Even better, employees can take the training as often as necessary, and according to Scott, feedback from AI is less stressful than from a coworker or supervisor, who can get frustrated by mistakes or get tired of having to repeat the process.
“What this alleviates with the role play tool is the person on the other side,” Scott says. “When you get the report when you’re done, there’s no emotional attachment to it — it is what it is based on what was fed into our system. You either hit the mark with building rapport or you need a little more help. Maybe you could have asked a little more or asked another question or taken a little more time. It gives real, constructive feedback. Most people do not nail it the first time, and they’re OK with that.”
Second Nature built the AI based on Bilauca’s training model, which she designed around different conversations members have throughout the relationship cycle and areas where testing could improve employees’ skills, such as asking open-ended questions to uncover needs.
Scott notes there’s a bit of a learning curve for users, and whereas most don’t get a passing score their first time around, the AI has gamified the training. Some employees have even attempted to “break” the AI by speeding through the process and attempting to outsmart it.
Not only have those attempts failed so far, but employees also receive poor grades because there’s no way to build rapport in two minutes.
“You have to ask enough questions to uncover what that member’s needs were, present the proper solution, close the conversation, and schedule a follow-up if needed,” Scott says. “You’re not going to be able to do that in a small amount of time.”
The AI is also built to foster realistic conversation, so if members mention their kids, for example, it will ask follow-up questions and respond in the same way a natural conversation would flow.
Most are not comfortable with the rise of artificial intelligence, but Scott says she didn’t have any trepidation about launching AI-based testing to augment the credit union’s traditional training. Scott emphasizes that the intention is not to replace staff but improve how they interact with members.
“We had great NPS scores in our branch performance before,” Scott says. “That’s not necessarily why we did this, but it does help with our service to members by having these better conversations.”
An Advocate For AI
Although Bilauca built the training, the process of assembling the AI took approximately six months, which was well ahead of expectations, Scott says. The goal was to have the functionality ready by the end of 2024, and the AI was up and running by midyear.
Premier America is currently considering AI tools for its contact center, but this is the first tool it has used for retail branches. Although Scott wasn’t a skeptic beforehand, she’s definitely an advocate now.
“It helps make our people better and faster and more efficient,” she says. “It definitely has a place in the banking world. We have to keep up with the retail environment, whether it’s banking or anywhere else. Our members go other places, and those places train them to get answers fast. We have to embrace this because our members expect those kinds of answers.”
Scott says AI implementation has reinforced an important lesson: technology is good tool, but it’s crucial that leadership shapes the narrative.
“When you have a new technology, you need someone who can champion it,” Scott says. “Members have to know how it will help them, but team members have to know that, too. Our ultimate goal is not to replace employees — it’s to open up the opportunity to do what they do best, to be a human with another human.”
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