Conversational and Generative AI: Game Changer in Banking

The advent of advanced technology such as Gen AI, conversational AI (CAI), and Large Language Models (LLMs) are completely shaking up the customer service landscape. These technologies combine all the benefits of friendly, responsible, and personable human interaction with the efficiency and accuracy of an automated system. 

Clunky chatbots are being superseded by a new generation of AI-powered intelligent virtual assistants (IVAs) that use advanced AI technology such as Gen AI, Machine Learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to not only understand the context of a customer’s request but respond as part of a two-way conversation. 

For sectors such as banking and finance — where customer service is paramount  —  advanced AI solutions enable organizations to deliver experiences that matter. From checking account details to making payments, these everyday tasks can all be automated, freeing up staff to focus on more complex tasks. 

Beyond automation of simple tasks which helps increase employee productivity and efficiency, IVAs have been found to enable more knowledge-intensive activities like enabling better search, providing summarized answers, and offering employees advice as well. GenAI-powered cognitive search holds immense potential too, as it has the power to transform functions such as product discovery, sales, marketing, and innovating new customer experiences.

What’s more, according to our CX Benchmark Report published in 2023, customers now expect banks (and other organizations) to adopt the most recent automated assistant technology for customer service interactions. 

Top AI ML News:

Kore.ai Launches Intelligent Virtual Assistants for Zoom Contact Center

IVAs Exceed Customer Expectations

For a sector once defined by face-to-face interaction, 85% of consumers now rank speed of response as their number one number outcome for a successful customer service interaction. 

On every key satisfaction aspect in customer service, IVAs proved to be offering better experiences. Benefits include lesser wait or hold times, quicker and complete answers, and more.

For instance, three-quarters (76%) of consumers said they would prefer to use an IVA to check the balances on all their accounts, including current accounts, savings, credit cards and mortgages. A similar number said they’d be happy to use an IVA for more run-of-the-mill tasks such as finding the location of a bank branch or ATM. 

Just under seven in ten (69%) said they would be content to use an IVA to set up automated bill payments while two-thirds (65%) would be happy to use the advanced technology to transfer money.

What’s more, the technology is smart. While users prefer to use advanced AI technology to help with complex service interactions, they also appreciate the effortless handoff to a live agent when it’s needed. In that regard, IVAs offer the best of both worlds. And it’s just one of the reasons they‘re being touted as a game changer in this sector. 

In fact, when banking customers were asked to compare their recent interactions with a bank, IVAs swept the board compared to non-AI-powered robotic chatbots, outperforming them in terms of accuracy by 29%, speed by 25%, and personalization by 24%. 

For those companies adopting CAI, it plays a pivotal role in transforming customer interactions, offering seamless multimodal support via voice-based, chat, and messaging apps while also streamlining employee-facing processes. 

And, it goes without saying that automating administrative tasks allows support agents to focus on less mundane tasks, boosting overall productivity and improving job satisfaction.

While other employees are benefiting from advanced AI solutions too, with popular everyday AI use cases in their regular workflows including code generation, fraud prevention, personalized product development, and marketing content generation.

IVAs are Set to Become the Go-to Solution for Customer Support Automation

Make no mistake… the banking and finance industry is undergoing real change. Gartner’s recent Financial Services Research Panel Survey found 61% of banking executives are increasing investments in AI, or plan to do so in the next 12 months. As a result, by 2026, it is predicted that more than 80% of banks will have adopted GenAI, up from current levels of 5%.

As banks look to the future, personalization is increasingly seen as a key differentiator. But, without an army of customer-facing staff on the high street to handle those interactions, only AI-powered technology can deliver such an experience at scale. 

Best-performing Story of the Year: Conversica Intelligent Virtual Assistants Approved for General Motors iMR Turnkey Participation

Considering that banks allocate between 30-40% of their operations budget for customer support, finding a cost-effective solution is critical if they are to reduce routine operation costs, enhance employee motivation, and boost customer satisfaction.

Such a transformation would require commitment in terms of talent, infrastructure, and technology. But, for those who have already embarked on this move, the investment is paying dividends, and global organizations can build one solution and then scale to offer it in multiple languages easily.

For example, a large multinational banking leader with over 200 million customer service calls per year implemented an AI-powered conversational IVA solution to handle growing call volumes in its customer service center. The solution instantly picks up incoming calls and converses in English or Spanish. It understands customer’s queries and provides answers in natural language over voice and digital channels. When needed, it can also transfer the call to a live agent along with any conversation history. 

Replacing the old DTMF phone system with an advanced AI-powered conversational IVA solution resulted in 18% reduction in call duration, lesser wait times and/or hold times, and higher customer satisfaction.  

While Nova KBM — one of the oldest and leading Slovenian financial institutions offering a full range of banking services — is one bank that has taken a step toward the future. It decided to offer IVAs to provide self-service to customers to free up their contact center live agents to spend quality time with customers that need extra support and improve customer satisfaction.

Replacing its simple chat feature with an AI-powered IVA resulted in a 94% improved customer satisfaction with the automated system, 75% reduction in chats routed to live agents and 65% increase in chat containment allowing its agents to handle more calls. 

The results underline the notion that AI — including CAI — is set to be truly transformational. In fact, according to McKinsey, AI looks set to make such an impact that it could ‘potentially deliver up to $1 trillion of additional value each year’. 

That’s certainly an incentive to invest. But the drivers for change are also coming from customers who have no problem switching banks if customer service fails to meet their expectations. 

There’s little doubt that IVAs — which provide personalized service journeys and immediate answers to customer questions and inquiries — are the future. For those in the industry, it’s not a question of if they’re adopted – but when.