Banking on Digital Growth

Why we're removing AI from our app (and putting our app in AI instead)

1h04 | 09/28/2026

Description

Everyone is racing to put AI inside their apps. We did too, and then we decided it was the wrong approach.

I sat down with my co-founder, Ryan Harmon, to talk about why we changed direction at MetriFi. Instead of trying to recreate the experience of ChatGPT or Claude inside our software, we asked a different question: Why not put our software directly into the AI people are already using?

That shift has changed the way we think about building software. I’m increasingly convinced AI isn’t just another feature. It’s becoming a new operating system for work. Our new rule at MetriFi is simple: don’t build a user interface unless a human actually needs to be in the loop.

Ryan and I also explore what this could mean for banks and credit unions. What if the next generation of digital banking isn’t won by building the best banking app, but by making your institution accessible to the AI your members already use every day?

Timestamps

00:00 Two approaches to AI
03:06 Put AI in your app or put your app in AI?
06:53 Why AI inside every app is changing
10:30 The connector-first approach
16:03 Working across apps without leaving AI
20:43 AI as the new operating system
22:22 Why we changed MetriFi’s AI strategy
23:36 GEO and the future of financial institutions
26:20 Rethinking how we build software
29:03 Our new rule for user interfaces
39:50 From 27 GEO interfaces to one
44:28 What this means for banks and credit unions
48:06 Banking directly inside ChatGPT
51:24 A leapfrog opportunity for community institutions
56:31 Can AI just use websites instead?
1:00:39 Where I’d invest if I ran a credit union
1:01:19 Why we’re making this bet with MetriFi

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Banking on Digital Growth

If you’re part of a financial brand marketing, sales, or leadership team, you know the entire industry is in the midst of exponential change fueled by new technologies. Consumers now make purchase decisions long before they walk into a physical branch location, if they walk into a branch at all, while mobile banks, digital lenders, and fintechs have transformed traditional growth models rooted in legacy broadcast marketing and branch sales strategies.Get ready to gain practical insights, proven ideas, and empowering inspiration as financial brand marketing and sales leaders, along with the leading digital marketing and sales technology firms, share their stories to help you maximize your digital growth potential here on Banking on Digital Growth.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Banking on Digital Growth

If you’re part of a financial brand marketing, sales, or leadership team, you know the entire industry is in the midst of exponential change fueled by new technologies. Consumers now make purchase decisions long before they walk into a physical branch location, if they walk into a branch at all, while mobile banks, digital lenders, and fintechs have transformed traditional growth models rooted in legacy broadcast marketing and branch sales strategies.Get ready to gain practical insights, proven ideas, and empowering inspiration as financial brand marketing and sales leaders, along with the leading digital marketing and sales technology firms, share their stories to help you maximize your digital growth potential here on Banking on Digital Growth.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Description

Everyone is racing to put AI inside their apps. We did too, and then we decided it was the wrong approach.

I sat down with my co-founder, Ryan Harmon, to talk about why we changed direction at MetriFi. Instead of trying to recreate the experience of ChatGPT or Claude inside our software, we asked a different question: Why not put our software directly into the AI people are already using?

That shift has changed the way we think about building software. I’m increasingly convinced AI isn’t just another feature. It’s becoming a new operating system for work. Our new rule at MetriFi is simple: don’t build a user interface unless a human actually needs to be in the loop.

Ryan and I also explore what this could mean for banks and credit unions. What if the next generation of digital banking isn’t won by building the best banking app, but by making your institution accessible to the AI your members already use every day?

Timestamps

00:00 Two approaches to AI
03:06 Put AI in your app or put your app in AI?
06:53 Why AI inside every app is changing
10:30 The connector-first approach
16:03 Working across apps without leaving AI
20:43 AI as the new operating system
22:22 Why we changed MetriFi’s AI strategy
23:36 GEO and the future of financial institutions
26:20 Rethinking how we build software
29:03 Our new rule for user interfaces
39:50 From 27 GEO interfaces to one
44:28 What this means for banks and credit unions
48:06 Banking directly inside ChatGPT
51:24 A leapfrog opportunity for community institutions
56:31 Can AI just use websites instead?
1:00:39 Where I’d invest if I ran a credit union
1:01:19 Why we’re making this bet with MetriFi

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Banking on Digital Growth

If you’re part of a financial brand marketing, sales, or leadership team, you know the entire industry is in the midst of exponential change fueled by new technologies. Consumers now make purchase decisions long before they walk into a physical branch location, if they walk into a branch at all, while mobile banks, digital lenders, and fintechs have transformed traditional growth models rooted in legacy broadcast marketing and branch sales strategies.Get ready to gain practical insights, proven ideas, and empowering inspiration as financial brand marketing and sales leaders, along with the leading digital marketing and sales technology firms, share their stories to help you maximize your digital growth potential here on Banking on Digital Growth.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Banking on Digital Growth

If you’re part of a financial brand marketing, sales, or leadership team, you know the entire industry is in the midst of exponential change fueled by new technologies. Consumers now make purchase decisions long before they walk into a physical branch location, if they walk into a branch at all, while mobile banks, digital lenders, and fintechs have transformed traditional growth models rooted in legacy broadcast marketing and branch sales strategies.Get ready to gain practical insights, proven ideas, and empowering inspiration as financial brand marketing and sales leaders, along with the leading digital marketing and sales technology firms, share their stories to help you maximize your digital growth potential here on Banking on Digital Growth.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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