SAN FRANCISCO — Offering some potential insights to credit unions as they join other FIs in the race to deploy artificial intelligence tools for consumers, SoFi says one of the biggest challenges has been teaching AI not just what advice to give, but how to deliver it in ways people are most likely to act upon, a new report reveals.
The digital bank recently began rolling out Coach, an AI-powered financial guidance tool embedded within its mobile app. The chatbot-style assistant uses customer financial data to provide personalized insights related to spending, saving, budgeting and investing.
This reporting is part of the CU Daily’s ongoing 2026 series “The Profitability Imperative,” which seeks to share all manner of strategies, knowledge, insights and more to help credit unions grow and better serve their members.
Brian Walsh, SoFi’s head of advice and planning, told Banking Dive that developing the tool required balancing the mathematical logic behind financial advice with the realities of human behavior.
“When it comes to financial guidance and coaching, there’s both an art and a science to it,” Walsh said.
The Debt Repayment Example
One example involved debt repayment strategies. While financial experts often recommend the “avalanche” method, which prioritizes paying off the highest-interest debt first, Walsh said many consumers achieve better results using the “snowball” approach, which focuses on eliminating smaller balances first to build momentum and motivation.
That insight led SoFi to train Coach to present financial guidance in ways that better align with how consumers make decisions, according to Walsh. The company also involved its team of financial planners in evaluating and refining the AI’s responses.
The goal, Walsh said, was to combine sound financial principles with behavioral insights that encourage consumers to take action.
The Rollout
Coach is being rolled out this month to members of SoFi Plus, the company’s premium membership offering. SoFi serves approximately 14.7 million customers and plans to expand access to the tool over time, Banking Dive reported.
The new offering builds on Relay, a financial management platform SoFi launched in 2019 that allows customers to connect outside accounts and monitor their overall financial picture.
According to Walsh, the company has spent several quarters developing and testing generative AI-powered financial experiences. Future enhancements to Coach could include features such as subscription management and additional automation capabilities.
What Was Discovered
During testing, SoFi found that members were generally comfortable interacting with the AI assistant, and a majority took steps to improve their financial situation after using the tool, Walsh said.
The company does not view the technology as a replacement for human advisors, according to Walsh.
“SoFi hasn’t reduced its financial planning staff and has no plans to do so,” Banking Dive reported. The company currently employs about a dozen financial planners.
Instead, Walsh described Coach as a complement to human expertise, allowing SoFi to scale financial guidance to a broader audience while preserving access to professional advice when needed.
The Inspiration
The growing demand for financial planning services helped inspire the development of the tool, he said.
“People want to understand where they stand and what they can do to improve their financial lives,” Walsh told Banking Dive. “How do we then scale that? And can we scale that through technology?”
As banks, credit unions and fintech companies increasingly deploy AI-powered assistants, Walsh argued that SoFi’s national bank charter and experience providing one-on-one financial planning services help differentiate Coach from competing offerings.
He also said many consumers need more than access to financial products and digital tools. They need guidance on how to use them effectively.
“Without the guidance to make use of those products and make the best decisions for their lives, I don’t necessarily know if those are that powerful,” Walsh told the publication..
