AI and Innovation Perspectives from the Frontlines of Community Banking

As adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) grows, community banks are finding that it not only streamlines operations but can be a key differentiator in attracting and retaining customers and deposits. This shift toward the widespread adoption of AI technologies—often with the use of third-party providers—transcends banking silos, whether used to enhance evaluation and training programs, improve operational efficiencies, or strengthen customer relations.

Supporting customer service
Consider, for instance, $4.4 billion-asset ChoiceOne Bank in Sparta, Mich., which recently partnered with Posh, an ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator alumnus, to help support customer service staff and simplify internal operations. Posh AI solutions focus on automating the customer experience, enhancing employee productivity, and facilitating growth and engagement. The result is significant cost savings, reduced abandonment rates, and lower third-party costs, among other benefits.

“The Posh system allows us to hand-feed our manuals, procedures, and documents into the system,” explains Tim Shangle, vice president of digital strategy, business analytics, and treasury at ChoiceOne. “When we ask it a question, it responds with an answer based on the information we uploaded with footnotes that cite the answer’s source.”

Enhancing internal efficiencies
AI is also helping banks like $500 million-asset High Plains Bank, which has multiple branches in Colorado, streamline internal efficiencies. The bank began its AI initiatives by integrating Gemini, Google’s AI tool, into its existing ecosystem to streamline in-house operations.

“Google Suite is our primary document system, and as part of that, we have rolled out Gemini to the entire organization,” says Brian Otteman, chief transformation officer at High Plains Bank. “We have an AI policy from our IT team with established structures around how employees can use Gemini. With those guardrails in place, we use Gemini extensively throughout the organization.”

This widespread adoption of Gemini has not only streamlined workflows but has led to enhanced training and evaluation programs.

One example is a quiz developed by a team at the bank to assess each customer support representative’s knowledge. The team uses Gemini to evaluate quiz results and pinpoint specific areas where staff members struggle and need further training. The system identifies potential challenges before they have a widespread impact on internal operations and external relationships.  Read article.