Credit unions can turn AI and gamified apps like Zogo into real financial wellness engines—if they focus on behavior change, personalization, and member trust.
Empowering Financial Futures, Not Just Pushing Products
Most credit unions say they care about financial wellness. Far fewer can prove it with member behavior, product adoption, or real outcomes.
That gap is exactly where tools like Zogo — and the broader use of AI in credit unions — start to matter. As Ben Brooks, President at Zogo, puts it, the goal is simple:
“We want to meet people where they are, in an approachable way.”
This post builds on his conversation on The CUInsight Network and connects it to a bigger question in this AI for Credit Unions: Member-Centric Banking series:
How do you use technology, data, and AI to actually empower members to take control of their financial future — not just check a compliance box?
Here’s the thing: you don’t win Gen Z or rebuild trust with burned-out millennials by sending another static PDF or hosting a sparsely attended “Budgeting 101” webinar. You win them by integrating personalized, engaging, and actionable financial education into the channels they already live in — their phones — and supporting it with smart AI behind the scenes.
This post breaks down what that looks like in practice, using Zogo’s approach as a jumping-off point.
From Financial Literacy to Financial Agency
The most effective credit union financial education doesn’t just teach definitions; it changes behavior.
Zogo’s mission is to “empower everyone to take control of their financial future, one lesson at a time.” That sounds nice, but the mechanics matter: they use a mobile app, micro-lessons, gamification, and rewards to help people move from knowing to doing.
Here’s why that model aligns so well with a member-centric, AI-powered strategy:
- Short, targeted content beats long, generic courses. Members want to know how to fix today’s problem: overdrafts, credit card debt, buy-now-pay-later decisions, or whether they can afford a car payment.
- Immediate feedback and rewards work. Points, badges, and streaks might sound trivial, but they trigger the same behavior loops that keep people in social apps — except now they’re nudged toward better decisions.
- Personalization is non-negotiable. A 19-year-old college student and a 45-year-old parent don’t need the same lesson. AI can help segment and recommend the right content at the right time.
If you’re serious about financial wellness, you should be asking:
- Are our “education” efforts producing measurable changes in behavior?
- Are we using member data (ethically and with consent) to tailor education?
- Are we tracking outcomes like fewer overdrafts, higher savings balances, or better loan performance by members who engage with our tools?
AI isn’t the magic. AI plus a well-designed member experience is.
Why Gamified Financial Education Works for Credit Unions
Gamified financial education apps like Zogo aren’t gimmicks; they’re a practical response to how people actually learn and engage with money.
1. They finally meet younger members where they are
Gen Z lives on their phones. That’s not a stereotype; it’s reality.
A mobile-first, gamified experience lets credit unions:
- Introduce core concepts like budgeting, credit scores, saving, and investing in bite-sized pieces
- Keep the tone approachable instead of intimidating or judgmental
- Create daily or weekly habits, which is where long-term financial behavior really changes
This is exactly the spirit of James Clear’s Atomic Habits, a book Ben Brooks calls out: small, consistent actions beat big, one-time pushes. A 3-minute lesson each day for a year has more impact than a single “Financial Literacy Month” event.
2. They make financial concepts feel safe to learn
Most people carry some level of shame, confusion, or anxiety about money. Traditional seminars or in-branch sessions can feel exposed and uncomfortable.
A private app, driven by simple language and interactive elements, lets members:
- Make mistakes without embarrassment
- Learn at their own pace
- Revisit topics when life circumstances change
You can support this with AI-enhanced member service automation in your digital channels — for example, a chatbot that suggests relevant lessons when a member asks:
- “Why did my credit score drop?”
- “Is it bad to only make minimum payments?”
- “How much should I keep in an emergency fund?”
3. They create clear touchpoints between learning and products
This is where credit unions too often get it wrong. They either:
- Shove products at members without context, or
- Keep education and product experiences totally disconnected
The better approach is to design learning-to-product pathways. For example:
- After a lesson on emergency funds, present an option to open a high-yield savings account or auto-transfer feature
- After modules on credit, suggest a secured card or credit-builder loan with clear, transparent terms
- After content on investing basics, invite members to practice with a paper trading feature (which Zogo is exploring) before they move into actual investment products with a partner
This keeps the member in control. Education comes first; products show up as tools, not traps.
Where AI Fits: Personalization, Timing, and Trust
AI gives credit unions the ability to scale personalization and timing in a way that manual efforts never can.
When you pair a financial education app with AI models and your core systems, you can:
Use data to deliver the right lesson at the right moment
Examples:
- A member’s checking account trends negative right before payday → trigger content on budgeting, cash flow planning, and overdraft alternatives
- A member’s debit card sees its first recurring subscription charges → suggest a lesson on subscriptions, free trials, and managing recurring expenses
- A member starts a loan application but abandons it → surface content on interest rates, debt-to-income ratios, and how to know if you’re borrowing safely
These aren’t random pushes. They’re contextual nudges driven by AI models that analyze patterns and map them to helpful content.
Turn support conversations into teachable moments
AI-powered member service automation — smart chatbots, intelligent IVR, or digital assistants — can:
- Answer simple questions in real time
- Identify intent (for example, “I’m stressed about my credit card debt”)
- Recommend education modules that match that intent
- Hand off to human staff when empathy and nuance are required
Well-designed systems don’t replace your frontline staff; they free them to handle the conversations that actually build loyalty.
Preserve trust with clear guardrails
There’s a line you can’t cross: using educational data to pressure members into products they don’t need.
I’d argue any serious AI-for-credit-unions strategy should commit to:
- Transparent data usage explanations in plain language
- Clear separation between education signals and marketing pressure
- Member controls over personalization settings and communication frequency
If members feel manipulated, you’ve lost. If they feel guided and respected, you’ve earned long-term relationships.
Designing a “User-Obsessed, Partner-Focused” Program
Ben Brooks describes Zogo’s approach as “user-obsessed, partner-focused.” That’s the right mindset for any credit union leader building AI and education into their strategy.
Here’s how that translates into a practical roadmap.
Step 1: Define what “financial wellness” actually means for your CU
Before you buy anything, get specific. For example:
- 20% reduction in members incurring three or more overdraft fees per quarter
- 30% increase in emergency savings account adoption in the 18–34 segment
- 15% lower delinquency rates among first-time borrowers who complete an education track
Tie those goals to your overall member-centric banking strategy. AI tools and apps are tactics — they should support clearly defined outcomes.
Step 2: Choose or build the right education platform
Whether you partner with a provider like Zogo or build something in-house, look for:
- Mobile-first design with simple UX
- Gamified elements (points, badges, progress tracking)
- Content breadth: from basic budgeting to advanced investing
- Integration hooks: SSO, core/CRM data sync, event triggers
- Reporting on engagement by segment and topic
If AI is involved in recommendations or content selection, demand transparency on how models are trained and how data is handled.
Step 3: Integrate AI into journey orchestration
Don’t bolt AI on as an afterthought. Map member journeys and decide where AI can improve:
- Onboarding (first 90 days)
- First credit product
- Life events: college, marriage, home purchase, children, retirement planning
For each journey, define:
- Triggers: events in your core or digital banking
- Actions: lessons or content to surface
- Channels: app, SMS, email, chatbot, branch follow-up
Then let AI models optimize timing and sequence based on real engagement data.
Step 4: Train staff to use the tools as conversation starters
No platform replaces a genuine human relationship. Frontline and lending staff should know:
- What content exists in your chosen app
- How to recommend specific modules during conversations
- How to read engagement dashboards before outreach or reviews
A loan officer saying, “I saw you completed our credit score lessons last month — what questions came up for you?” is miles better than, “Here’s our standard brochure.”
Measuring What Matters: From Lessons to Lifetime Value
If you’re going to invest in gamified education and AI, you should expect more than vanity metrics.
Track three buckets:
1. Engagement
- Active users on your education app
- Lessons completed per member per month
- Streaks or habit indicators
2. Behavioral outcomes
- Changes in savings balances after certain lesson tracks
- Overdraft fee incidence before vs. after engagement
- Loan performance for members who completed specific paths vs. those who didn’t
3. Relationship depth
- Cross-sell, but with guardrails: product adoption aligned with completed topics
- Retention rates by segment and engagement level
- Member satisfaction scores tied to digital and education experiences
The reality? When members trust that you’re on their side, lifetime value naturally grows. Education backed by smart AI is one of the most credible ways to prove that.
Where Credit Unions Go From Here
Most credit unions aren’t short on intention. They’re short on execution and integration.
Zogo’s approach — mobile, gamified, “user-obsessed, partner-focused” — is a strong model for what member-centric, AI-enabled financial wellness can look like. But the real opportunity is bigger than any one app:
- Use AI to personalize education and support, not to manipulate
- Treat financial literacy as the front door to deeper advice, better products, and healthier member outcomes
- Build feedback loops so you can see, in data, whether you’re actually empowering financial futures
If you’re planning your 2026 roadmap right now, a pointed question to ask inside your leadership team is this:
If a 19-year-old opens their first account with us next week, do we have a realistic, engaging, technology-supported way to guide them into financial confidence over the next 10 years?
If the honest answer is “not really,” then it’s time to rethink your approach — and AI-powered, app-based financial education should be near the top of that list.