Michigan State University Federal Credit Union saves 2,000 employees hours each month via its AI-driven, internal chatbot Gene.

The $7.3 billion, East Lansing, Mich.-based credit union launched its internal bot Gene through its innovation lab, which was stood up in 2021, Ami Iceman-Haueter, chief research and digital experience officer at MSUFCU, said Friday at the Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2023 in Charlotte, N.C. Through the lab, the credit union also launched a client-facing bot, Fran, which takes on the workload of 16 full-time employees.

Meanwhile, Gene answers questions regarding loan application information, compliance updates and internal changes to which employees need access, Iceman-Haueter said. “We saw that employees were calling one another to get answers because they couldn’t find it fast enough in our system. Gene really simplified that.”

Fran responds to member inquiries with information regarding the credit union’s routing number and branch location, she said, noting, “We’ve also seen that some of our members who are looking for financial support use Fran to ask questions that they may not feel confident asking employees.”

The two chatbots are equal to 21 full-time employees, Iceman-Haueter said. Totaling an estimated savings of $735,000 of full-time salaries at the credit union, according to a Bank Automation News’ analysis based on Indeed figures.

Stay up to date with all the news out of the Bank Automation Summit US 2023.