Responsible AI Adoption in Banking: How Forward Bank Worked With WSI

Forward Bank wanted to get started with its use of AI, but its teams were already carrying full workloads. Any new process also had to fit the privacy, cybersecurity, and compliance expectations of a regulated financial institution. They knew they needed someone who understood both the unique needs of a bank and had the insight into how to put AI to use responsibly in a highly compliance- and security-focused industry.

WSI Consultant (and “recovering banker”) Eric Cook and WSI’s AI Strategy team helped the bank turn a growing list of ideas into a managed adoption program.

Forward Bank described the need as access: access to the right tools, expertise, and a way to move promising ideas forward. The bank also wanted to build internal capability that could continue to develop as AI tools and business needs changed.

The Challenge: Expanding AI Use Without Compromising Banking Compliance

Forward Bank is a customer-owned community bank serving communities across Wisconsin and Minnesota. It offers personal, business, and agricultural banking, along with insurance and investment services. Local decision-making and community reinvestment are central to how the organization operates.

Capacity was the immediate constraint. Research, analysis, reporting, content development, and administrative processes still required substantial manual effort. Teams had ideas for improving the work but had limited time to assess tools and turn those ideas into operational processes.

How WSI Helped Forward Bank Build a Responsible AI Adoption Program

Eric Cook spent 15 years in community banking before becoming a WSI Consultant, bringing firsthand knowledge of bank operations and regulatory expectations to the engagement. With over 30 years of combined banking and digital experience, Eric was the perfect partner to help Forward Bank realize its AI goals.

The work addressed four barriers that often slow AI adoption: uncertainty about acceptable use, limited hands-on experience, too many possible applications, and limited evidence of business value.

AI Governance Created a Consistent Review Process

WSI worked with Forward Bank’s leadership to establish policies, best practices, and guardrails for responsible AI use. The work addressed privacy, cybersecurity, and compliance considerations within the bank’s operating environment.

Forward Bank reported that this foundation helped speed up testing and rollout. Teams could assess proposed tools and use cases through an agreed process, while leadership remained involved when a decision required closer review.

Quick Win Reviews Focused on Measurable Workflows

WSI facilitated Quick Win reviews across compliance, risk, reporting, marketing, and various other administrative functions.

The teams looked for recurring processes that required repeated preparation, extensive research, or manual data handling. They also considered whether the work had a reliable baseline and whether any required banking controls could be preserved.

That focus made the results easier to evaluate. Forward Bank could compare the time required before and after a change instead of relying only on employee impressions or tool-usage counts.

Role-Based Training Helped Employees Apply AI to Real Workflows

Hands-on training helped employees apply AI to work they already understood. During monthly champion sessions, teams brought forward real operational problems and worked with WSI to assess possible approaches.

As Forward Bank’s internal knowledge grew, those sessions moved into deeper working discussions. The bank began creating internal AI agents and developing larger systems, including a marketing intake platform, with support from WSI.

Forward Bank also reported a greater willingness across the organization to test ideas, explore efficiencies, and challenge existing processes.

Forward Bank’s AI Results: Copilot Use and Time Saved

Forward Bank began tracking enterprise AI activity and productivity through internal reporting.

During one documented reporting period, Forward Bank estimated 276 hours in time savings across departments associated with Microsoft Copilot use.

The marketing team also estimated:

• 140 annual hours saved in research and analysis
• 144 annual hours saved in content brainstorming, creation, and refinement
• Approximately 100 project hours saved during a website redesign
• Four new research and analysis opportunities identified through the work

AI Reduced Time by 75% or More in Several Measured Workflows

The Quick Win analyses documented substantial reductions in selected workflows:

• Enterprise risk management data extraction fell by 80–90%, from about 10 hours to 1–2 hours per quarter.
• Interest on Lawyer Trust Account (IOLTA) and Interest-Bearing Real Estate Trust Account (IBRETA) reporting fell by 75%, from about 2 hours to 30 minutes per cycle.
• Marketing accounting and expense-report preparation fell from more than 30 minutes to 5–10 minutes per month.
• Annual donation-list comparisons fell by approximately 83–92%, from about 3 hours to 15–30 minutes using AI-supported matching.

Each example starts with an existing process and a known baseline, allowing Forward Bank to compare performance before and after the change. Tool activity shows adoption; the process comparison shows whether the work improved.

Compliance Identified 400 to 1,300 Hours in Potential Annual Savings

Forward Bank’s compliance review identified additional opportunities that could save an estimated 400–1,300 hours annually if all identified enhancements are implemented.

The largest opportunity involved high-risk customer reviews. Forward Bank completes roughly 1,500–2,500 reviews each year and estimated that AI-supported improvements could save 15–30 minutes per review. At that volume, a relatively small reduction in time per review adds up quickly, representing an estimated 375–1,250 hours annually.

That is equivalent to approximately 47–156 eight-hour workdays of employee time each year.

Other identified opportunities included shorter Bank Secrecy Act and fraud board-reporting cycles, along with faster phishing-test reporting.

The 400–1,300-hour compliance range is a projection based on full implementation of the identified enhancements.

What Makes WSI a Strategic AI Partner for Banks

Forward Bank wanted current AI guidance without having to ask its team to assess every new tool and development on its own. As a former community banker and someone who’s worked closely with community banks across the country for over three decades, Cook and his WSI team bring extensive industry experience to their banking clients. The AI consulting work we do is grounded in banking operations, regulatory expectations, and the realities of introducing new technology in that environment.

WSI’s broader network also provides access to additional AI expertise as new tools, use cases, and questions emerge. That combination of industry context and wider AI knowledge helped Forward Bank evaluate which developments fit its priorities and operating environment.

As the work progressed, Forward Bank brought more of its own operational questions, workflows, and internally developed AI agents into the monthly sessions. The discussions evolved alongside the bank’s internal knowledge and the work already underway.

“Our relationship with Eric and the team at WSI has grown into far more than a typical consulting engagement. It is not simply tactical work, and it is not limited to strategic planning. What we have built together is a true thought partnership.

Over time, that partnership has also become a friendship built on trust, curiosity, and a shared commitment to learning and improvement. We challenge one another, exchange ideas freely, and continue to grow together. Eric and the WSI team are as invested in Forward’s success as we are in building a strong and meaningful partnership with them.”

Sheri Dick, COO, Forward Bank

What Forward Bank’s Experience Shows About Responsible AI Adoption 

Governance Should Help Teams Make Decisions

Responsible-use policies need to answer the questions employees encounter when they test a tool or propose a new process. Who reviews the use case? What data can be used? Where is human review required? How will the output be checked?

Governance becomes useful when it gives employees a path from an idea to a responsible test. A policy that only lists restrictions may reduce risk on paper while leaving teams unsure how to proceed.

Measure the Process Before Introducing AI

Before testing AI, record the current cycle time, review steps, handoffs, and common sources of rework. Measure those same points after the pilot.

A baseline gives leaders something concrete to compare. Without it, teams may feel that work is moving faster but struggle to prove the improvement.

Treat Usage, Estimated Savings, and Future Potential as Different Evidence

Set the reporting rules before the pilot begins. Decide which measures will be recorded directly, which will rely on employee estimates, and which will remain projections until a use case is fully implemented.

That discipline prevents early enthusiasm from being presented as proven value. It also gives leaders a clearer basis for deciding whether to continue, adjust, or stop an application.

Build Internal Capability Alongside Outside Support

Consultants can bring structure, specialist knowledge, and experience from other organizations. Employees still know the work, controls, and operating realities in the greatest detail.

Internal champions connect those two perspectives. They surface relevant processes, test approaches with colleagues, share what they learn, and help responsible adoption continue after formal training ends.

Recognition Through WSI’s 2026 People’s Choice Awards

WSI Consultant Eric Cook’s work with Forward Bank was recognized as one of three winners in WSI’s 2026 People’s Choice Awards. The recognition reflects the scope of the engagement, from governance and employee training to documented adoption and measurable operational gains.

Explore more client stories from WSI’s 2026 People’s Choice Awards.

Build a Responsible AI Adoption Plan With WSI

Organizations considering a similar program can begin with one recurring process that has a measurable baseline, clear data boundaries, and an accountable owner. Test the process, review the output, and compare the result with the original workflow before expanding it.

WSI AI Consultants help organizations assess readiness, establish responsible-use policies, prioritize use cases, train employees, and measure results.

Talk with a WSI AI Consultant about the first workflow worth testing in your organization. And if you’re a community bank or in the financial services sector, reach out to Eric directly to take advantage of his deep industry experience, just as Forward Bank did.