FinTech Magazine - May 2022 | Page 100

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 .
To learn more about MSUFCU ’ s story or how you can use conversational AI to improve member satisfaction visit boost . ai