TruStone Financial Credit Union has transformed its member service experience with the implementation of “Ruth,” an AI-powered chatbot built on Eltropy’s Unified Communications platform. Named after the credit union’s first bookkeeper, Ruth now independently manages 46% of all member conversations, reducing contact centre call volume by 20%.
Before deploying Ruth, TruStone faced the challenge of managing approximately 5,500 weekly conversations, which often led to backlogs of up to 1,000 messages on Monday mornings. “We were running at about 5,500 conversations a week. We’d get caught up on Saturday and then come into a thousand more Monday morning,” said Jill Schaffler, leader of TruStone’s enterprise applications team.
Following Ruth’s launch, TruStone has seen dramatic improvements:
- Member satisfaction scores climbed to 9.4 out of 10
- Average wait times dropped to just 34 seconds
- Missed inquiries plunged from 1,300 to only 72 within five months
Ruth’s success stems from a strategic rollout that prioritised member experience over technology. The credit union invited employees to name the chatbot, crafting a narrative that tied it to TruStone’s history.
“We focused heavily on member experience. The technology comes second to us,” said Kate Alter, manager of the unified communications team. “We asked ourselves, ‘What can we do to make this a success?’”
Ruth’s initial rollout began on TruStone’s website in July, followed by integration into its digital banking platform in November. Within a week of the integration, conversation volumes doubled, highlighting strong member acceptance.
TruStone now plans to expand Ruth’s capabilities by exploring generative AI through Eltropy’s platform, further enhancing the member service experience.
Ashish Garg, Co-founder and CEO of Eltropy, praised TruStone’s efforts: “Their results show the power of combining AI with a thoughtful, member-first approach. Ruth isn’t just a chatbot; it’s a part of their legacy and a tool that truly serves their members.”
This initiative exemplifies how technology, when implemented strategically, can elevate customer satisfaction while optimising operational efficiency.
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