4 Banks and Credit Unions Recognized for AI Innovation

Glia, the #1 Banking AI platform, today announced the winners of its 2026 Catalyst Awards, which honor the most forward-thinking institutions using Banking AI to create measurable impact across growth, operational efficiency and customer experience. 

This year’s winners demonstrate the expanding role of Banking AI — retaining millions in deposits, creating thousands of hours of workforce capacity, resolving customer needs around the clock, and equipping employees with real-time knowledge to fuel personalization and cross-selling. Together, these banks and credit unions are proof that with Banking AI, community and regional institutions can compete with megabanks and fintechs without sacrificing the relationships and experience that have always differentiated them. 

“As AI moves from automating routine tasks to completing complex operating procedures, these institutions are leading the way,” said Dan Michaeli, co-founder and CEO of Glia. “By methodically building and scaling Banking AI into their operations, they’ve positioned themselves ahead of the industry — directly benefiting their employees, local communities and account holders. We are proud to partner with them and celebrate their incredible momentum.”

Glia’s 2026 Catalyst Awards winners include: 

• Heartland Credit Union, recipient of the Harmonizer Award for using Banking AI to create faster, more efficient member service across voice interactions. Glia saves Heartland more than 6,000 staff hours annually — giving them the additional capacity of nearly four full-time employees — while reducing average wait time for a human operator by 40% and call abandonment by 54%. 

“We view Banking AI as a way to empower our members with faster, 24/7 self-service options while allowing our employees to focus on higher-value conversations that require empathy, expertise and personalized financial guidance,” said Daniel Mijal, vice president of digital strategy at Heartland Credit Union. “Glia helped us achieve the scale of a megabank without losing the personal feel our members know and trust.”

• Live Oak Bank, recipient of the Pacesetter Award for demonstrating how AI-enabled customer engagement can translate into deeper banking relationships. With Glia’s Banking AI, the technology-forward bank maintained a 93% first-contact resolution rate while more than doubling the volume of interactions handled entirely by AI. Live Oak's checking balances grew 63% year-over-year, and 25% of its customers now hold both a loan and a deposit account, up from 18% a year prior. Voice AI gives the bank the capacity to serve those relationships around the clock.

“The industry still treats efficiency and experience as opposing forces, said Josh Goldstein, director, contact center at Live Oak Bank. “Live Oak’s history says otherwise, and our deployment of Glia’s Banking AI proves it at scale: We serve every customer like they’re the only one, around the clock, while freeing our bankers to do the high-value relationship work that grows loans and deposits.”

• Thomaston Savings Bank, recipient of the Energizer Award for using Banking AI to give frontline employees immediate access to institutional knowledge while automating routine work. Since launching Glia, Thomaston has saved over 1,440 hours — the equivalent of adding a full-time employee to the team every week — while Glia’s AI quality-assurance capabilities saved an additional estimated 222 hours. Thomaston is now expanding Glia beyond the contact center into Treasury Management and Loan Operations to fuel personalization and speed for every team across the institution. 

“Glia is helping us balance modern AI technology with the compassionate, personal touch that defines Thomaston,” said Melissa Cipriano, Officer / Contact center manager at Thomaston Savings Bank. “Our consultants get immediate procedural answers without switching tools or interrupting peers, while AI handles routine customer inquiries. That gives our team significantly more time for in-depth troubleshooting and meaningful conversations about our clients’ needs.” 

• Alliant Credit Union, recipient of the Prodigy Award for its rapid speed of innovation, selecting Glia and launching the Banking AI platform in just eight weeks and producing measurable results within its first year. One of the largest fully digital credit unions in the U.S., Alliant used Glia and supported nearly 300,000 digital interactions while creating more than 10,500 hours of annual workforce capacity and contributing to a nearly 20% year-over-year decrease in call volume. 

“The results we've achieved with Glia in our first year have been remarkable — from supporting hundreds of thousands of digital interactions to creating meaningful efficiencies for our team,” said Stephani Foss, chief operations officer at Alliant Credit Union. “This award reflects our ability to move quickly, embrace innovation and deliver measurable value for both our members and employees. We are grateful for our partnership with Glia, whose expertise and collaboration have helped us accelerate our digital engagement strategy and enhance the way we serve members. We are honored to be recognized by Glia and remain focused on building even better experiences in the years ahead.”

Together, this year’s Catalyst Award winners demonstrate the transformative power of AI built specifically for community banks and credit unions. By leveraging AI designed specifically for their needs, these institutions are creating experiences and operational efficiencies that rival the nation’s largest banks — all while protecting and prioritizing the relationships and customer-centricity that defines community banking.

“Out of the more than 700 financial institutions we work with, these four stood out for their ability to drive significant results and achieve AI maturity that impacts both their employees and account holders,” said Paul Sheets, chief customer officer at Glia. “Glia’s mission is to empower community and regional institutions to thrive against megabanks and fintechs. These award winners prove that when local financial institutions put Banking AI to work, they don't just compete — they win.”

Additional information on the 2026 Catalyst Awards is available at glia.com/catalyst-awards. 

About Glia 

Glia is the #1 Banking AI platform, empowering community and regional financial institutions to create efficiencies, accelerate loan growth, drive deposits, and deliver experiences that win against megabanks and fintechs. Glia’s Banking AI combines intelligence, knowledge, and action into a single agentic framework, activating an AI workforce of specialized agents that draw from banking data, interaction history, and integrated systems of record. Banking-trained AI agents automate workflows across voice and digital—from front office to back office—resulting in decreased operational costs and the Universal Banker model. Trusted by 700+ banks and credit unions for its ironclad security and reliability, Glia provides the foundational trust institutions need to safely scale AI. It’s why Glia customers quickly and confidently put Banking AI to work with measurable results from day one. Learn more at glia.com.

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