When a performance dip doesn’t show up in the analytics, it’s time to look beyond the funnel. That’s where AI stepped in and helped us uncover a story that every credit union marketer should know.

The Mystery: Auto Loan Conversions Were Slipping

It started like many investigations do: reporting flagged a decline in auto loan conversions for a credit union client. Our tracking systems were working perfectly, conversion events were firing, funnels looked healthy, and traffic hadn’t changed significantly.
So why the dip?

That's when Brian, our reporting and analytics lead, took a different route. Rather than digging deeper into what wasn't there, he turned to AI, specifically ChatGPT's advanced research capabilities, to look outward at the broader market.

Asking AI the Right Question

Brian’s prompt was simple, but specific:

“Can you research if there are any identifiable trends/statistics around automobile loans in the past 3 months?”

ChatGPT responded the way a great researcher would, by asking clarifying questions:

• Are we talking about U.S. or global trends?
  
  
• Are we focused on new loans, interest rates, or credit access?
  
  
• Do we want lender segmentation?
  
  
• Do credit score tiers or vehicle types matter?

The Findings: A Shifting Landscape

What came back wasn’t just surface-level insight. It was a data-rich breakdown of the key macroeconomic and competitive factors shaping auto lending, especially for credit unions.

Here are just a few highlights:

• Credit unions’ share of new auto loans fell to 9.4% in Q4 2024, a multi-year low, down from 12% the year prior.
  
  
• Captive lenders (e.g. Ford Credit, Toyota Financial) still dominate new car financing with promotional rates as low as 0–2%.
  
  
• Banks gained ground, rising to 24.8% of new car financing as they re-entered the space with aggressive offers.
  
  
• Used car loans, long a CU stronghold, also slipped, with banks overtaking credit unions in Q4 for the first time in years.
  
  
• Tariffs in April 2025 triggered price hikes of $5,000–$15,000 on many new vehicles, pushing monthly payments up to $830+.
  
  
• Credit tightening across banks and captives left credit unions as the go-to for subprime borrowers, but that comes with elevated risk.
  
  

Why This Matters to Credit Union Marketers

As marketers, we’re often expected to tie performance back to channel metrics, creative testing, or campaign timing. But sometimes, the real story is macroeconomic. And it won’t appear on your dashboard.

Here’s why using AI like this matters:

1. Faster Trend Spotting
   AI accelerates complex research that would take hours—if not days—with manual searches. It gathers, compares, and summarizes trusted sources in seconds.
   
   
2. Strategic Storytelling
   With AI surfacing industry benchmarks and macro trends, you can go beyond “clicks and leads” and tell a strategic story to your board, your CEO, or your lending team.
   
   
3. Competitive Advantage
   Credit unions need to compete with banks and captives using more than just rates. AI can help identify market gaps, like emerging opportunities in used EVs or lease refinances.

What You Can Do With This Insight

• Refinance Positioning: Target members who financed at dealerships but are now seeing higher monthly payments due to tariffs.
  
  
• Used Car Focus: Double down on used vehicle campaigns, where credit unions still offer better rates than banks.
  
  
• Pre-Approval Campaigns: Give prime borrowers a CU loan offer before they head to the dealership.
  
  
• Member Education: Use email or content marketing to help members understand long-term impacts of rising loan terms and rates.

Choosing the right GA4 page dimension helps you filter through the noise and get actionable insights that actually support your marketing goals.

If you’d like help setting up these reports for your credit union, feel free to reach out to our team. 

We’re always here to help you ensure the data works for you.

The Bigger Picture: AI Is Here to Help

This wasn’t a use case about AI replacing marketers or analysts. It was about augmenting their work, helping surface broader context when the usual tools came up short.

Whether it’s spotting a market shift, crafting a new campaign angle, or making a case for product innovation, AI can be a powerful ally for credit unions.

And in this case? It helped us turn a puzzling drop in conversions into a meaningful story—and a strategic opportunity.

Ready to Explore AI for Your Marketing Team?

If you’re a credit union marketer navigating an uncertain lending environment, tools like ChatGPT can help you move faster, dig deeper, and tell better stories.

Want help getting started? We’re already putting AI to work across research, reporting, and strategy, and we’d love to show you how. Reach out here