I used AI to build an entire credit union website in hours (and it's incredible)

In this episode of the Banking on Digital Growth Podcast, Derik sits down with Kelly Hellickson of EmpowerFi to explore the future of AI-native websites, the agentic web, and why traditional content management systems may not be the best way to build digital experiences moving forward.

During the conversation, Derik demonstrates a real-world prototype where AI designs, builds, and deploys a fully functional credit union website, including creating an entirely new youth checking page live during the episode.

The implications for financial institutions are massive: faster development, lower costs, better user experiences, and a future where AI becomes the content management system itself.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and the future of AI-built websites

01:12 Meet Kelly Hellickson and EmpowerFi

03:00 Building modern MarTech stacks for financial institutions

06:00 Why many financial institutions still restrict AI tools

09:28 The conversation that sparked this episode

10:53 Could AI replace traditional CMS platforms?

12:13 Derik's AI workflow and being a top 1% ChatGPT user

16:21 Building AI-powered tools and website experiences

18:00 The concept of an AI-native website

22:25 Why AI can finally build complete websites

24:20 Live demo: an AI-generated credit union website prototype

25:25 How 140 A/B tests influence website design decisions

30:13 Introducing Claude Design and AI-first website creation

33:07 Using A/B testing data to guide AI-generated pages

35:15 How conversion optimization and A/B testing work

41:00 Training AI with proven website performance data

43:00 AI generates a youth checking page in real time

45:04 Why AI-generated design rationale is a game changer

47:04 Updating website experiences on demand with AI

49:31 When could AI-native websites become mainstream?

50:27 The vision for a fully agentic website platform

52:23 Claude Design → Claude Code workflow explained

54:09 How AI could make websites 10x faster and cheaper

56:01 Viewing the completed AI-generated page

57:44 Deploying the page live with Vercel

59:13 From AI design to a live website in minutes

01:00:00 Final thoughts on the future of AI-native websites

If you're interested in AI, digital marketing, website strategy, or the future of financial institution websites, this episode offers a firsthand look at what's possible today and where things are headed next.

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