Since the ancient days of asking Jeeves, organizations have looked to secure top-billing for certain keywords, functions or products on an internet results page. Yes, the art-cum-science of search engine optimization (SEO) is as old as the internet itself. Here are three ways credit unions can stay top-of-mind and top-of-page in 2026.

Yawn, another SEO blog. Worse yet; one filled to the brim with AI talk! We get it; authors in both fields have a tendency of offering hackneyed platitudes, but as valuable as AI is to facilitating the credit union mission through products and services, it also represents a genuine threat to the system’s discoverability … if credit unions don’t up their game.

So we’re stripping away the noise and focusing on three top-level must-knows/easy-to-dos that every credit union can take to keep pace with the competition.

You can’t spell “SEO” without “AI” … kinda

First, some context. If you’ve made it to this page, you’ve likely done so through one of three ways:

1. Clicked on an email—in an inbox filled with AI-written emails (so thanks for picking ours; humans write them!)
2. Clicked on a post in LinkedIn—having scrolled past an innumerable and indeed insufferable tranche of AI-generated posts and imagery
3. Googled “Top SEO trends for credit unions 2026” and found us—sourced in the AI-curated results

It’s hard to imagine then, that just two years ago the SEO conversation was not dominated by AI but the times have changed and continue to do so.

The credit unions that rank well (i.e. turn up on search results—which are increasingly generated within AI platforms like ChatGPT) now are those that are adapting with the technology.

Vitally, that does not mean churning out so-rightly-called “AI-slop”, however. Ironically, Google’s AI (let’s just use “Google” as shorthand for your search engine of choice) doesn’t like it. In fact, Google actively tries to filter out content and/or entire pages that it believes are AI-generated.

In many ways, this is an extension of the move it took in 2022 when it added “Experience” to its ranking guidelines. The logic was that humans like hearing how other humans used, felt, experienced a thing, and so pages that include that insight will rank higher. AI can’t replicate a human experience; it can’t effectively emote or review, and so in those circumstances, it offers little value to a searcher.

Do you speak human?

A continuation of that same thread is that perhaps the most important SEO move today is to talk like a human. Y’know, how humans do.

Unbelievably, this may take a heavier lift than you realize. Traditional SEO rewarded keyword alignment, so pages were stuffed with nonsense. The AI Gods, however, want clarity. Structural clarity. Informational clarity. Language clarity.

When someone asks ChatGPT, “Where’s the best place to get a car loan in Dubuque?” the credit union sites that have, “We offer flexible rates on all vehicle types” won’t rank.

Those with: “Dubuque Credit Union car loans:

• Borrow up to $X
• X-Y% APR
• A-B month-terms

“Not sure if you’d qualify? Contact us at 0800-DUBUQUE-CAR” win-out every time.

Pithy marketing copy has a place, but your website may no longer be it.

The three SEO steps every credit union should take

Let’s recap: your credit union likely uses AI to generate content hoping it shows up within an AI-dominated search experience that actively deselects AI-generated content from results.

Just in case that isn’t super clear for you, here are the three steps that every credit union, of every size, scale and digital maturity, can take:

1. Audit your discoverability

Put yourself in a (potential) member’s shoes for a minute. If you look at your site and your lending products and financial education options are described in clean, machine-readable, human language, you may be set (for now).

If, however, they’re buried in paragraphs talking about “Financial freedom” (when was the last time you heard anyone outside of the credit union say those words?) or worse, included in a PDF you’re expecting/requiring a member to download, you’ve got some work to do.

2. Stress-test your distribution model

Find out where you’re most vulnerable by pulling a stack of originations and looking at some key indicators.

• Channel mix: What percentage of loans were indirect? What percentage were direct online or in-branch? What percentage were refis? This will help you gauge where the lending decision was made and open your eyes to your credit union’s current prominence.
• Pre-approval usage: If you’re dishing out pre-approvals like Oprah Winfrey but seeing only a fraction convert, you’re losing at the point-of-sale. Similarly, if pre-approval volume is low altogether, you’re not influencing the comparison phase in the first place.
• Refi life cycle: Look at the average months-on-book before a refinance occurs. If auto-borrowers consistently refinance 6–12 months after purchasing a vehicle, for example, your credit union’s competing post-purchase. That’s not inherently bad, but it does tell you you’re not shaping the initial lending decision … so you’re likely not showing up where you need to be.

None of these metrics require sophisticated modeling, just basic reporting with an intentional eye.

3. Pressure-test your differentiation

It’s time to take a look at the competition. If an AI agent ranks five lenders in your market on rate, approval speed, and friction (or lack thereof) where does your credit union win?

Being “competitive” isn’t a winning strategy. “We know our members” isn’t either. Offering a frictionless, fully integrated membership-to-borrowing journey that uses personalized recommendations and insights because you know your member, however … game changer.

TL;DR

The headline here is that humans are still necessary, particularly in marketing, because your SEO performance relies on the inputs, insights and experiences of those humans. AI is now omnipresent and precisely because of that, it has both upside and downsides. When it comes to managing your credit union’s online exposure, AI is a tool you should use, not a tool you should outsource to.

Need some humans to help wrangle the AI? Mission Brands is here to help.