Client Story: Ion Bank

Ion Bank's Digital Assistant, Fiona, empowers website visitors with the ability to self-serve and reduces calls to the contact center.

Customer Background:

Ion Bank ($2.1 billion AUM) has served personal and business customers since its opening in 1870. As an independent financial services company, Ion is committed to helping customers identify and achieve their financial goals. 

Improving customer Experience 

Community banks use many methods to drive growth. Ion Bank focuses on growth through increased customer base, deposits and loans. Ion decided to offer a way for customers and prospects to easily obtain information about its key products and services by improving the website experience. In turn, this allowed Ion to offer another way for customers to obtain answers to frequently asked questions 24/7. Ion partnered with Posh to:  

• Empower website visitors with the ability to self-serve
• Arm customers with product and service information 
• Reduce calls to the contact center

“We wanted to highlight some of our key products and services and arm people with the information to help them make the best decision for their current financial situation,” says Ion’s executive vice president and chief information officer. “As we progressed through our selection process, it was clear that Posh was the best partner for Ion Bank.”

Introducing Fiona, Ion Bank’s Digital Assistant 

Although Ion Bank’s leadership team had been using AI solutions for fraud detection and prevention, they wanted AI to add value for customers and employees. They decided to start with its public-facing website to empower visitors. Ion launched Posh’s Digital Assistant, which they named Fiona, in March 2022 to manage customer inquiries and address commonly asked questions without human intervention. 

“Fiona helps our customers without a wait and, more importantly, outside open hours. Fiona showcases our products and services and helps customers resolve routine inquiries. Not only does that make it more efficient for both the customer and Ion, but it eliminates the need to call.”  

Fiona's top interactions include:

1. Product rates
2. Assistance with online banking and/or login problems
3. Zelle
4. How to open an account or apply for a loan 
5. Hours and locations 

Fiona’s launch quickly translated to tangible benefits: better experiences for customers, fewer calls to the contact center and more bandwidth for Ion’s staff to focus on complex, high-touch interactions.

Encouraged by the success of Fiona, Ion looked for other ways to extend AI’s impact across the organization, and Posh had just the right tools: Knowledge Assistant and Posh Answers.

Fetching Info With Fido

While Fiona transformed customer interactions, Ion’s employees faced their own hurdles. New hires struggled to navigate SharePoint’s labyrinth of procedures, and seasoned staff wasted time tracking down policies.

That’s where Fido, Ion’s Knowledge Assistant, came in. 

Before Fido, employees had to dig through shared drives and static documents to answer questions. Now, with Posh’s internal-facing Knowledge Assistant, they can type a question in natural language and get a clear, sourced answer in seconds.

As Dawn Derwin, Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Delivery Officer at Ion, explains, “Fido is going to be used internally, allowing us to help our internal customers — our branches — who are helping the real end-user at the end of the day.” 

And it’s not just for the retail branch network. Ion is rolling out Fido across multiple departments, including marketing and training. Now, it supports everything from brand guidelines and onboarding documentation to vendor comparisons and procedural policies.

“We love the concept of being able to do something a little bit faster, a little bit more efficiently, and bring the human component in when it becomes complex or unique,” says Derwin. “It plays directly into the self-help philosophy we established years ago — giving people tools to solve problems themselves.”

Kerri Bastien, FVP, Retail Delivery Officer, echoes this sentiment. “Our team servicing customers needs answers fast. Traditional search and training just weren’t delivering responses quickly enough. Knowledge Assistant allows them to search the way they naturally think and get accurate results instantly.”

That speed — and the ease of use — was key. According to Bastien, Ion repeatedly heard feedback from staff that critical processes weren’t findable, even though they existed. “It was often just a wording issue,” she explains. “We’d call something one thing, and employees might search for another term and come up short. Knowledge Assistant bridges that gap and makes it easier to serve customers without delay.”

Transforming Customer Search With Posh Answers

Ion didn’t stop at chat and internal knowledge. Recognizing the untapped potential of their public-facing website, they implemented Posh Answers to improve the search experience for customers. The goal was simple: eliminate dead ends and ensure every search query connected users to actionable, relevant results.

“When we looked at our existing search, and we saw a lot of room for improvement — but we didn’t realize how much better it could be,” says Craig Porter, EVP, Director of Marketing & Communications. “Posh Answers isn’t just an AI-powered search, but a way to drive calls to action and improve efficiencies. So we’re not just answering questions, we’re also helping sell a product.”

Answers quickly became an integral part of Ion’s digital strategy, with employees and customers alike using it to navigate product offerings, locate services and complete digital actions — without relying on staff. 

Ion had previously relied on a basic site search tied to blog content, which left gaps. “A lot of it was just tied to whatever blog posts we had written,” Porter explained. “It wasn’t really acting in a true search capacity. I don’t think anyone had raised a complaint, but once we saw what else was possible, it was clear how much better this could be. We wouldn’t have known what people couldn’t find otherwise. But with Answers, we can actually see where a customer hits a dead end.”

Once they implemented Answers, the team quietly optimized the experience. “We refreshed the look, moved the search bar, expanded the input area. We didn’t make a big announcement,” Porter said. “That was a suggestion from you all — making it more visible than just a magnifying glass. It worked.”

And it’s not just customers using the feature. “One of my coworkers uses Fiona and Posh Answers all the time to find information,” said Bastien. “Even internally, it’s a helpful resource.”

A Trusted Partnership and a Shared Culture of Innovation

For Ion Bank, working with Posh has never been about adopting tools for technology’s sake. It’s been about choosing the right partner — one that listens, innovates and builds solutions that matter.

“You guys have been tremendous partners to us,” said Kerri Bastien. “We kind of went into this relationship blind — I don’t remember even getting a reference from one of our networking banks. But you’ve become a trusted partner. We trust your services and the service you’re going to provide us.”

That trust has opened the door to deeper collaboration and faster innovation. Ion was the first bank to request a Spanish-speaking version of Fiona, and Posh delivered. These kinds of conversations are what it means to lead with innovation.

“Our philosophy at Ion is to be an early adopter and an early leader wherever we can,” said Derwin. “We understand that when you’re an early adopter, it’s not always perfect, but there’s a competitive advantage in being part of the development. It gives us a voice.”

That voice, and that partnership, are guiding Ion’s next steps.

From rolling out Digital and Knowledge Assistants across departments to preparing for the future of Voice, Ion is building smarter systems to support its people, its customers and its mission. And with Posh by their side, they’re doing it with clarity, speed and confidence.

Want to get the same results? Check out Posh's suite of solutions:

Digital Assistant

Knowledge Assistant

Voice Assistant

Posh Answers