About First Heritage Federal Credit Union

Founded in 1954, First Heritage Federal Credit Union serves more than 48,000 members across eleven counties in New York and Pennsylvania. Headquartered in Corning, NY, and managing over $747 million in assets, the credit union is known for its community focus, earning "Best of the Twin Tiers" recognition four years running. First Heritage blends the values of traditional service with forward-thinking innovation to meet evolving member needs.

The Challenge: Fragmented Information and Inconsistent Answers

Before implementing Posh, employees at First Heritage faced daily hurdles just trying to locate reliable information.

“A lot of our stuff was scattered, folders here, the intranet there. Nothing was really searchable,” said Zach Saunders, Director of Retail Operations and Training. “I'd think, ‘I know that’s in a procedure,’ but finding it could take hours.”

Instead of spending time sifting through disconnected systems, employees often turned to colleagues for answers.

“The big pain point was people didn’t want to waste time digging, so they’d just ask the person next to them,” Saunders added. “But that led to different answers depending on who you asked, lots of opinions instead of facts.”

Members experienced similar issues on the public website.

“The search functionality was pretty poor. It returned a bunch of unrelated results, and we had no analytics, no idea what members were searching for,” Saunders noted.

The Solution: A Strategic First Step into AI

The idea to adopt AI started at the top. Dave Walker, Senior Vice President, had been tracking AI developments and saw a practical opportunity in Posh.

“This was our first leap into the world of AI,” said Saunders. “Dave had been following AI for years, and Posh made it feel accessible and useful right away.”

After a compelling demo, the First Heritage team was impressed, not just by the product, but by the people.

“The product wowed us, and honestly, the team sealed the deal. When we had questions or ran into issues during testing, support was fast and thorough. That gave us the confidence to go all-in.”

Implementation: Testing, Tuning, and Transforming

Knowledge Assistant officially launched in April 2024. Before rolling it out institution-wide, the team put it through rigorous testing.

“I tried to break it,” Saunders laughed. “We pushed hard on all the procedures, asking tons of questions, and ended up making changes to how some were written. It helped us improve our content just by showing us how the AI interpreted it.”

That iterative testing ensured a high degree of trust in the system. Once refined, Knowledge Assistant was introduced first to the contact center, then expanded across departments.

The Results: Faster Support, Stronger Service

The impact was clear and immediate.

“It’s just faster. Our frontline can get to answers instantly, and members don’t even realize they’re looking anything up,” said Saunders. “It’s a seamless experience.”

Members now enjoy shorter wait times, fewer transfers, and more consistent answers, whether in-person, online, or over the phone.

“It’s made everything smoother, better turnaround times, better service. Calls don’t sit on hold as long. It’s noticeable.”

And the value goes beyond the contact center. With Posh Answers, the marketing team now has visibility into member search behavior on the website.

“The analytics are huge. We finally know what our members are actually looking for, and we use that to refine our messaging and support,” Saunders added.

Embracing a Culture of AI: New Hires Leading the Way

First Heritage is now building AI usage into the foundation of employee onboarding.

“We introduce new hires to Knowledge Assistant right away,” said Saunders. “It’s what they learn from the beginning, no outdated habits to unlearn. They get used to trusting it and using it naturally.”

As a result, new team members are often the most engaged users, and they’re helping spark broader adoption.

“New hires lean on it constantly, and that encourages more seasoned employees to follow suit. The ripple effect is real.”

Saunders emphasizes the importance of engaging with the backend data:

“My advice to anyone is: really use the analytics. I spent months diving into the questions, and that insight is where the real power is.”

Looking Ahead: Scaling AI Across the Institution

First Heritage is just getting started. With strong early results from Knowledge Assistant and Posh Answers, they’re already eyeing other Posh products.

“We’re excited about the Training Simulator. Honestly, we’d love to use all the AI products. So many of them would be beneficial,” said Saunders.

Their experience shows how even a single, well-executed AI implementation can deliver measurable operational improvements, and build the foundation for long-term digital transformation.

“If we ever walked away from Posh,” Saunders said, “I don’t think we’d find another partner that could compare. I don’t even know what we’d do without it.”