How Fran the virtual agent is helping MSUFCU boost member satisfaction
Using conversational AI to solve the challenge of scaling credit union member service
Michigan State University Federal Credit Union ( MSUFCU ) is the largest university-based credit union in the United States . MSU- FCU ’ s digital member experience was primarily centered around its live chat channel- an 85-person team handling over 10,000 member requests per month . Their challenge was in scaling up support 24 / 7 as its members were increasingly choosing to interact with it via chat . The live chat channel saw a 130 % increase in volume in spring 2020 and was not sustainable without significantly ramping up resources which would be costly and timeconsuming .
Introducing Fran , the trusted digital advisor
In the fall of 2021 , MSUFCU relaunched their customer-facing virtual agent - named Fran - on the boost . ai platform . Fran helps answer questions the credit union ’ s members may have about its range of products and services , providing a friendly and intuitive frontend to MSUFCU ’ s website . If members are looking for a routing number or a loan application form , Fran guides them directly , instead of needing to click and search through the website .
Initially , MSUFCU was concerned if its members would trust Fran or see the bot as an impediment to them being able to talk
FRAN FACTS :
1,100 + credit union topics covered
Resolution rate : 96 % 20 % conversation growth in Q1 2022
The great thing about a chatbot is that people ask it whatever they think it should tell them . The boost . ai platform makes prioritizing these interactions easy and intuitive . It takes the guesswork out of member service , which is truly invaluable .
with a live agent . Thanks to the boost . ai platform ’ s conversation analysis tools , the credit union was able to prioritize Fran ’ s interactions to help frustrated members get the right human help they needed when necessary .
MSUFCU discovered that the more accurate Fran was , the more their members responded positively and trusted her to help . Powered by conversational AI , the boost . ai platform makes it easy to optimize and update virtual agent content in real-time . Common member queries are automatically flagged so that they can be reviewed by human agents and trained into Fran without delay .
The no-code nature of the boost . ai platform means that MSUFCU did not need to hire developers to build and manage Fran . Instead , they used members of the existing customer service team , leveraging their expertise and experience to ensure that the virtual agent remained an accurate representation of the credit union ’ s well-loved brand .
Benjamin Maxim Vice President of Digital Strategy and Innovation
A trusted channel between members and credit union
MSUFCU ’ s ability to have total owner ship over the building and maintenance of Fran has meant that the accuracy at scale necessary to satisfy its members has been eminently achievable .
To date , Fran can answer questions on over 1,100 topics specific to the credit union with a 96 % resolution rate . Furthermore , MSUFCU has seen a 20 % growth in the virtual agent ’ s conversations in Q1 2022 compared to Q4 2021 . Members are trusting and turning to Fran as a key channel of communication .
MSUFCU will soon use the boost . ai platform to extend services beyond informational , introducing selfservice functions that interface with member accounts such as transferring funds , checking balances and more . This will extend the credit union ’ s 24 / 7 service and further assist with call and chat deflection into the future .