Del-One Federal Credit Union Automates More Than ⅔ of Member Service Inquiries with Voice & Chat AI

If New York is the center of American Finance, Delaware is a close cousin. Home to some of the largest financial institutions in the United States and the place of incorporation for more than half of U.S. publicly-traded companies, the state punches above its weight when it comes to banking. 

Playing host to some of the largest financial institutions creates a fiercely competitive dynamic, but one where community-based banking has still flourished. Today, 1 out of 4 Delawareans are members of a credit union and Del-One Federal Credit Union is the largest in the state. 

With more than 83,000 members and a rich history, Del-One has always been member-focused and member-driven. During the pandemic, as experience strategies evolved, it became clear the important and evolving role that technology would need to play. At the heart of this was automation. A consistent increase in contact center volume accelerated the credit union’s need for AI. They recognized it was becoming a key ingredient to maintain their reputation for excellent service, while also controlling expenses.

Introducing a virtual assistant to members. 

The integration of AI started with del-one.org. Seeking to provide 24/7 support for members, Del-One developed a bot to sit on top of Glia’s live chat to create an autonomous, self-service experience. Using the chatbot, affectionately called Breezy, members could seek assistance with common banking questions, find resources on and off the web, and request help with account transactions. 

As their first step into AI, they chose a methodical approach beginning with chat. Member education was focused and specific, providing tangible examples of the type of answers the chatbot could provide, while still making it known that a live agent or branch employee was available when needed. The benefits of this automation were abundantly clear early on. The ability to provide instant, 24/7, and highly-accurate responses significantly improved member satisfaction. Realizing this impact, Del-One extended the virtual assistant to their phone support.

How Del-One learns and adapts with every interaction. 

In designing the banking journey, Del-One looks at every aspect of the member experience and the processes members go through. For its member self-service channels, that includes monitoring conversation histories and data analytics to understand automation and containment rates, average handling times, and routing experiences.

Looking deeply at why people call or initiate a live chat with an agent is foundational to evolving the experience. It helps to identify and prioritize new intents, suggest next best actions, and ensure that the capabilities of Breezy are meeting the evolving needs of the membership. The team has even leveraged AI to help facilitate the feedback process with post-engagement surveys delivered via text, and all powered by interface.ai.

The impact on members and contact center agents.

Del-One’s north star is to be the easiest place to bank with, in all interactions. Today, voice and chat are important channels for members, with AI automating almost 70% of all inbound calls. They’ve found a way to meet people where they are, but also enabled new behaviors with the help of Breezy. For instance, as trust has grown in the service, more and more members are calling Breezy in the middle of the night simply because it’s so convenient to do so. 

One of the most compelling benefits of increased self-service is its impact on agents. With most of the repetitive and common queries now automated, agents have the capacity to have deeper, more meaningful conversations with members. As well as improving the agent experience by shifting their role from transactive to advisory, this also enhances member engagement. Allowing agents to have more personalized member interactions is one of the most powerful secondary benefits, differentiating the Del-One brand, enabling cross-selling of services, and transforming the contact center experience.

The origins of the name, Breezy.

The inspiration for the name Breezy came from a beloved board member and pillar of the community. R. Bryce “Breezy” Brown. Breezy began serving on Del-One’s Board of Directors in 1984 and was named Treasurer in 1995, a role he held until his retirement from the board in 2019. 

Throughout his term, Breezy became known for his affable personality and his unwavering service to the community. He won the distinguished Volunteer of the Year Award from the Delaware Credit Union League in 2010 and the inaugural Del-One service award that is also now named in his honor. So when it came time to create a persona for their virtual assistant, ‘Breezy’ was the unquestionable choice – a virtual representation of everything that his namesake represented.