AI, Google, and your CU website

Yet another headline about AI (Artificial Intelligence). Yawn. But if you’re responsible for content on a credit union website, there are some practical, nuts-and-bolts things you need to know about how AI interacts with your content.

And don’t worry – there’s still a place for us humans in this brave new machine world. Here are a few tips for making sure your credit union’s website is AI-ready.

AI-powered search wants what humans want

There’s a lot of blather out there about optimizing for AI, but it boils down to the same content optimization principles that have (or should have) guided content strategy for a couple of decades; search is about connecting real, live humans to what they want. Focus on the people, not keyword stuffing or the hack-of-the-day, and the rest will follow. 

Simplify your website, organize your content, make content that people want, and make it useful for humans, and AI will like it too. It’s that simple. (And that hard, too.)

Trying to “game” the system, or prioritize appeal to machines over appeal to real people, has never worked for very long, and it’s an even less productive mindset now that machines are getting closer and closer to understanding meaning in ways similar to humans. 

Create more unique, local, content people need

This advice is nothing new, right? But we really, really mean it this time. “Member Education” is on everyone’s mind, but another batch of boring generic articles or videos on IRAs isn’t interesting or useful. Credit unions enjoy a high level of trust, and so you’re in a great position to be more of an advisor for your members. For example:

Tough times. People Google their financial problems, so how about content and services to help them out? Bankruptcy, divorce, death, layoffs, fraud, and other unpleasantries are part of life. Be there for your members and make bad times better.

Get super-local. Discuss some purely local concerns and questions. For example, what do your mortgage people have to say about the local housing market? What are some quirks to your town’s landlord and tenant laws? Are people worried about layoffs or excited about a new company coming to town? 

Solve common specific problems. Make sure you have a series of quick articles and videos on the everyday reasons people call. How to reset your online banking password, how to set up an automated payment, how to contact someone after hours, what to do if you suspect fraud, how to apply for a car loan, how to open or rename an account.

Get chat-ready and clear out the confusing cruft 

Several of our credit union website clients are in the process of implementing AI search and chat. And part of that process is reviewing and cleaning out all the outdated content on their website so that it’s a clean, clear knowledge source for their AI. And of course it’s also important to spot and fill in gaps in website content.

It’s hard work, and maybe a little tedious, but it’s vital whether you’re jumping into your own AI implementation or not. It’s important to test thoroughly and make sure your AI, as well as Google and your members, get clear, correct, and current information from your website. 

Get in touch with your website developers if you need a hand with developing a content inventory and reviewing your website content. 

Accessibility matters to AI

As it turns out, making your content more Accessible (in the ADA sense) to more people makes it more useful to machines too. Clearly and correctly organize your content hierarchy, use headlines properly, use text instead of images of text, condense your text into bite-size chunks, use ALT tags correctly, and use clear, simple language at an appropriate reading level. 

Hang on to your humanity

AI doesn’t (yet) quite seem to understand humor, sarcasm, and the subtleties of brands, so here’s a chance for humans to shine.

We humans can still write with quirks, wit and sparkle while being clear and organized in a way that AI can’t approach. Your brand “voice” is an important component of making your site interesting to humans, and that still needs the human touch and human curation.

Be aware that there’s a real danger of bland-i-fying things too much if you are trying too hard to make AI happy, or you’re using AI tools too much to edit and condense copy. There’s a balance, and it’s important to err on the side of humanity.

Use authentic images and video

If you’re just a little tuned in, it’s not hard to spot AI-generated images, and they’re too often pretty unsettling. Many stock image providers are overrun with AI-generated photography and art, and they don’t always disclose this. 

Again, this is a place where humans can still shine. Curate your images and video carefully around your brand and the experience you want members to have. Unsettling AI-generated people with too many teeth (most AI image generators have figured out fingers), or staring a little too intensely into the camera don’t do your brand any favors. Better yet, hire a local photographer to get authentic, local, real images.

However, AI can sometimes be a great way to generate abstract images, and even put together informative video if that fits what you’d like to do. Just review everything very carefully before you put it to use, and be on alert for that uncanny valley.

Be transparent about how you use AI

Make sure you account for your use of AI in your privacy and use policies, if needed. And if you use AI images or text, consider disclosing that. Or, have a little fun with it; add a “100% HUMAN-CREATED” stamp to your content.

The AI revolution is here, but remember – your members are still all humans, and (probably) always will be. Focus on the humans, and the rest will follow.

This article was 100% organically generated by a bipedal humanoid currently roaming Indianapolis on planet Earth.

Brian Wringer
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