Credit unions are moving forward with their digital transformation efforts: Whether it's loan automation, back-office operations or member-facing solutions, to date, 75% of banks and credit unions say they've launched a digital transformation initiative, according to Cornerstone Advisors. Good for them. But most are getting a foundational component of digital transformation – intelligent digital assistants (IDA) – wrong.

Implementing a digital assistant isn't like installing digital banking systems or mobile apps. Instead, it's like implementing a tiny little banker – a more human-like bit of technology that, while certainly focused on helping members get the information they need quickly, can do so much more. It can be "trained" with natural-language understanding and conversational artificial intelligence to be the welcoming presence at a credit union's digital front door, and offer advice, financial resources and insights, and product information.