On CU Times’ Inside the PRO Studio, Heritage Federal Credit Union’s Director of Customer Experience, Adam Goetzke, detailed how the credit union rebuilt its contact center around Glia’s platform and a virtual assistant named “Heidi.” The overhaul, launched in March 2024, replaced an IVR maze with an “easy, intuitive, natural” experience that lets members choose self-service or a human, without repeating themselves.
Results are striking. Heritage slashed call abandonment from peaks near 60% to under 10% (4.3% last month). Heidi now contains about 34% of interactions, while AI assists nearly 100% of agent calls with real-time summaries, prompts and job aids. Post-call documentation has fallen to roughly five seconds, enabling agents to handle one call and two chats simultaneously, and Heritage to answer 13% more calls without adding staff.
Crucially, leadership chose to reinvest AI-created capacity. The contact center now opens accounts, funds CDs and starts loans, moving Heritage toward a true virtual branch. Goetzke’s containment target is 30–40%, calibrated to member experience: Complaints and complex issues go straight to people.
Audience questions (we see you Nassau Financial FCU) probed staffing and scope. Goetzke’s advice for credit unions starting out: Treat AI as a partner, redesign roles to upskill and plan how you’ll use the capacity surplus to deepen relationships, not just cut costs.
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