How AI can power the next phase of credit union growth

Credit unions can deepen their understanding of member relationships to improve retention, growth and service with agentic AI.

In brief

• Credit unions are rethinking how to connect with potential new members who value both digital convenience and trusted relationships.
• AI-powered agents present an opportunity to provide personalized, member-centric experiences that deepen relationships and increase share of wallet.
• A disciplined growth blueprint grounded in data, technology, talent and trust can help credit unions compete in a digital-first market.

Credit unions have long differentiated themselves through trust, community orientation and member-centric values. These strengths have supported credit union growth, helping generations of members navigate financial milestones and economic uncertainty. Yet as competition intensifies and consumers reshape expectations around personalization, speed and digital experiences, those traditional advantages alone are no longer sufficient to sustain growth.

AI for credit unions, particularly agentic AI, offers a path forward. When deployed within defined governance and trust frameworks, it can help credit unions evolve into the command center of their members’ financial lives — integrating curated financial solutions, FinTech-enabled experiences and intelligent capabilities that anticipate member needs based on preferences, patterns and contextual data. While many credit unions recognize AI’s potential, adoption has been largely concentrated in the back office, with far less momentum behind growth-oriented, member-facing use cases. Automation, employee enablement and financial education bots are valuable first steps, but they are not likely to effectively engage digitally native consumers who view their credit union as behind the curve on technology. The transformation opportunity now is to move beyond efficiency to impact, advancing credit union growth strategies through AI to strengthen relationships, enhance the member experience, expand relevance across generations including the digital native and support long-term credit union growth.

Insights from the EY Growth Intelligence Council (GIC), an exclusive nationwide cohort of credit union leaders, point to several structural challenges that continue to constrain growth, even as leaders express optimism about the future.

Engaging younger demographics remains a primary hurdle

Younger members or Gen Z increasingly expect digital channels that are intuitive, personalized and always available. Though credit unions see AI as a way to meet those expectations, many leaders remain unsure where to begin, how quickly to move or how to deploy AI safely without undermining member trust. As a result, growth-oriented use cases often lag behind experimentation in operations or training.

Legacy platforms and data gaps slow transformation

Fragmented, aging technology platforms make it difficult to deliver seamless, AI-enabled experiences. Many credit unions have invested in data-mapping initiatives, recognizing data as foundational to AI. Yet mapping alone does not generate value. Leaders frequently struggle to turn mapped data into actionable insights that inform decisions or power personalization, particularly when systems are not fully integrated across a broader technology ecosystem in service of the member.

Trust and customer experience across digital channels act as gating factors

Trust is both a defining strength and a constraint for credit unions. Concerns around data readiness, privacy, regulatory compliance and the risk of degraded experiences make leaders hesitant to deploy member-facing AI. Generational differences further complicate adoption: long tenured members may prioritize human interaction, while younger members expect intelligent digital guidance. The stakes are high. EY NextWave research shows that 43% of customers at national financial institutions trust their bank’s AI tools, compared with just 21% of regional and community financial institution members, underscoring a trust gap credit unions must address to remain competitive. Pursuing an AI-driven, digital approach building trust and engagement that is seamlessly integrated with live, in-person member experiences remains a challenge. 

Trust in bank's AI tools

Leadership and workforce readiness remain uneven

Limited AI and data fluency across leadership teams, and gaps compared to the teams they manage, continue to slow progress. Decision-making is often driven by intuition rather than insight, and legacy talent models reinforce traditional ways of working. A readiness-to-learn and availability-to-use gap remains pervasive across most credit unions, where leadership and staff are not fundamentally rethinking how they work and serve their membership in the age of AI. Without leadership alignment and workforce readiness, even well-designed AI strategies continue to struggle to gain traction.

Credit union growth strategies: modernizing the member journey

Yet a persistent gap remains between strategy creation and strategy realization.

Closing the gap requires a disciplined growth blueprint grounded in technology, talent and trust. Six interconnected pillars are critical for fueling digital ecosystem growth:

Together, these pillars reinforce trust while facilitating personalization, speed and relevance — expectations that have become table stakes, particularly for Gen Z.

To operationalize this blueprint, credit unions can focus on several near-term actions.

The demand for personalization, relevance and speed is already reshaping financial services. Credit unions that wait risk losing ground to digital-first competitors that are redefining the member experience. Those that act now have the opportunity to apply AI in ways that build on trust-based relationships, extending and strengthening them.

By embracing a clear growth blueprint and turning strategy into execution, credit unions can deepen loyalty, grow share of wallet and remain relevant for generations to come.

Nikhil Lele, EY Americas Consulting Banking and Capital Markets Leader; Samantha Paxson, EY Advisor in Residence; and Justin Zavis, Senior Manager, Risk Consulting, Ernst & Young LLP, were contributors to this article.