Glia’s 2026 Catalyst Awards spotlight four institutions using AI to deepen relationships, free up staff and compete with larger rivals
Four community and regional financial institutions have been honored for turning artificial intelligence into measurable business results, from deposit growth and cross-sell gains to thousands of hours of reclaimed staff time.
Banking AI provider Glia named Heartland Credit Union, Live Oak Bank, Thomaston Savings Bank and Alliant Credit Union as winners of its 2026 Catalyst Awards. The program recognizes institutions using AI to improve growth, operational efficiency and customer experience. Glia said the four were chosen from the more than 700 banks and credit unions it works with.
For bank marketers, the winners share a clear message: AI is increasingly being used not just to cut costs, but to create capacity for the human, relationship-driven conversations that set community institutions apart from megabanks and fintechs.
Live Oak Bank: Turning service into relationships
Live Oak Bank received the Pacesetter Award for showing how AI-powered customer engagement can lead to deeper banking relationships. The bank more than doubled the share of interactions handled entirely by AI while holding first-contact resolution at 93%.
The relationship numbers stand out. Live Oak’s checking balances rose 63% year over year, and the share of customers holding both a loan and a deposit account climbed to 25%, up from 18% a year earlier. Josh Goldstein, the bank’s contact center director, argued that the industry wrongly treats efficiency and experience as trade-offs, and said AI lets bankers focus on the relationship work that grows loans and deposits.
Heartland Credit Union: Faster answers by phone
Heartland Credit Union took the Harmonizer Award for streamlining member service across voice channels. The credit union saves more than 6,000 staff hours a year, roughly the capacity of four full-time employees, while cutting average wait times for a live representative by 40% and call abandonment by 54%.
Daniel Mijal, Heartland’s vice president of digital strategy, said the goal is round-the-clock self-service for members, with employees freed for conversations that call for empathy and personalized financial guidance. He credited the technology with giving the credit union megabank-level scale while keeping its personal feel.
Thomaston Savings Bank: Knowledge at the frontline
Thomaston Savings Bank earned the Energizer Award for giving frontline staff instant access to institutional knowledge while automating routine tasks. The Connecticut bank has saved more than 1,440 hours since launch, plus an estimated 222 more through AI-driven quality assurance. It is now extending the platform into treasury management and loan operations.
Contact center manager Melissa Cipriano said consultants can now get procedural answers without switching systems or interrupting colleagues, leaving more time for in-depth problem-solving and meaningful client conversations.
Alliant Credit Union: Speed to market
Alliant Credit Union, one of the largest fully digital credit unions in the U.S., won the Prodigy Award for the pace of its rollout. Alliant selected and launched the platform in just eight weeks. In its first year, it supported nearly 300,000 digital interactions, created more than 10,500 hours of annual workforce capacity and contributed to a nearly 20% year-over-year drop in call volume.
Chief Operations Officer Stephani Foss said the award reflects the credit union’s ability to move quickly and deliver value for both members and employees.
The takeaway for financial marketers
Glia CEO Dan Michaeli said AI is shifting from automating simple tasks to handling complex operating procedures, and that the winners have positioned themselves ahead of the industry. Chief Customer Officer Paul Sheets framed the results as proof that local institutions using AI can do more than keep pace with larger competitors. In his words, “they don’t just compete — they win.”
For marketers at community banks and credit unions, the lesson is that AI’s payoff increasingly shows up in relationship metrics: wallet share, deposit growth and the time staff can spend on personalized advice.
More information on the awards is available at glia.com/catalyst-awards.
