AI for Credit Union Marketing: trendy topic or transformative tool ?

As 2023 is blossoming, so are artificial intelligence (AI) content generators. Companies such as Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft have had various levels of AI available before, such as Siri and Alexa, but are now introducing more robust options. For instance, Google’s AI, Bard, can create a custom email campaign for you. Or how about having it take notes during a Google video meeting then generate a strategic plan based on those notes? Yep, it can do that, too, and so much more.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the sexy teaser videos for these new AI options, but are these just trendy, shiny objects or can they really transform our marketing efforts.

As with just about any marketing question, the answer is: it depends.

• It depends on what sort of transformation you want.

• It depends on how integrated you make it.

• It depends on who’s using it.

• It depends on all of those and much more.

But let’s back up for a moment and define this type of AI.

The phrase “artificial intelligence” covers just about anything related to computers using math and logic to mimic human reasoning. It can be as simple as the predictive typing you see as you text from a smartphone to complex applications deep inside cybersecurity. In fact, your credit union is likely already using AI in fraud detection efforts or when your core predicts the next best product for a particular member.

What’s causing a buzz this spring is the application of AI to generate content. These are being labeled chat AIs as they were initially developed to provide human-like responses in website chatbots.

These chat AIs now have expanded to provide human-like responses to more than just “when will this shirt be back in stock.” They’re writing poems, essays, and yes, even college papers. So, it’s easy enough for them to write headlines, ad copy, social media captions and other marketing content. They’re generating so much content beyond chats that some industry leaders are using the term ‘generative AI.’

But is this easy-enough marketing content the right next step for your marketing efforts?

As with any tool, it can be helpful or harmful depending on the user’s intent and skill level.

Boost your credit union’s marketing efforts

Generative AI can be easily grouped with other marketing tools designed to save time and money. From using stock photos and video to canned campaigns to design templates (oh hello, Canva), these short-cut tools can definitely boost your marketing efforts when you apply these filters:

Your brand

You’ve likely already experienced the downsides of NOT applying your brand filter. It’s easy to do when the same happy family stock photo is used for two very different organizations. You might see a happy family image used for an insurance company billboard one day and then see it again while scrolling through a social feed, but this time it’s for a realtor.

When you’re working with generative AI, take the time to adjust the copy to match your brand’s tone of voice. Some AI tools are now offering tone of voice options, so experiment with those to see how close they might get to how your marketing copy should sound. Maybe the AI-generated copy is too conversational for your traditional, more formal credit union. Tweak it!

Same applies to canned campaigns and design templates - tweak them to match your brand. This will feel more authentic to your audience and lessen the chances other organizations will be using the exact same images or copy.

Your credit union’s intention

Get very specific and discerning in how you approach these tools. If it’s your intention to just get marketing materials out there as quickly as possible, the content generated by these tools can certainly help do that. But you will likely give up any differentiation in the images and copy. If it’s your intention to use these tools as a jump start in your content generation, take the time to experiment with different ways to use these tools. Generate more compelling copy by starting with very detailed and specific prompts. Discover better images by using descriptive keyword searches.

Pro tip for stock images: Scroll past the first 25. Most people just grab the first one that matches their needs, which leads to that image being used over and over.

Credit unions’ take

Another way to produce auto-generated content more specific to your organization’s brand and voice is to explore opposing aspects with these tools. You likely spend a lot of time in the financial marketing space but explore the outputs these tools give you for the fashion industry, for instance. Or prompt the AI to develop headlines for banks or ecommerce or home builders instead of credit unions. Then flip those headlines to match your take, your point of view. Using AI to challenge our routine ideas can spark new ones.

Take AI for marketing content with a grain of salt

If generative AI is so helpful, why are some financial institutions banning the use of it? Yes, firms like JP Morgan Chase are not just warning employees about the downfalls of AI, they’ve gone so far as to ban the use of it. The concern about AI content is what Morgan Stanley describes as hallucinations – content that looks real but isn’t. People want their financial institutions to provide trustworthy – real – information.

Tests are showing that when users push AI into generating specific content, especially related to technical or industry-specific topics, the content it produces appears well-researched and formed yet flawed. AI will provide references, source material, quotes from experts. But when that material is fact-checked, the smoke fades and the mirrors shatter, leaving quotes attributed to the wrong people, academic studies that don’t exist or any number of other incorrect references.

AI is no substitute for the trusted advice people seek when dealing with their finances and investments. It might be great at offering options for headline ideas, taking notes during a meeting, or outlining a promotional campaign, but keep the deep thinking with the human beings. For it is our humanity that connects us to our members creating loyalty and sustainable growth, and there is no shortcut AI can provide for that.