AI virtual banking assistants have become increasingly important as customers shift more of their financial activity to digital channels and expect immediate answers to questions about their accounts. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated that shift while also creating new types of customer inquiries that banks had to address quickly and in language consumers naturally use.
Bank of America’s Erica demonstrates how artificial intelligence can help financial institutions adapt to rapidly changing customer needs. By continuously training the platform to recognize new intents, the bank has expanded Erica beyond routine banking questions to address pandemic-related concerns, including requests for payment assistance and deferrals.
In a far-ranging interview with Hari Gopalkrishnan, who manages all Client Facing Platforms Technology at Bank of America, we learn that Zelle usage is up 70% (which shouldn’t be a surprise to PaymentsJournal readers) and that Erica automated agent now recognizes 60,000 pandemic-related intents.
Also interesting is that during the pandemic Bank of America added several new and unique intents based on new customer behaviors:
“And so the number of customers that have seen that and say, This is amazing, because it actually helps me manage my financial life. It keeps an eye out for my financials when I’m too busy doing other things like living my own life. So it goes to construct what really propelled us, why we built Erica, and then I can come back to your question. When the pandemic struck, we found our customers actually asking us about questions about the pandemic. They wouldn’t say, how do I defer a payment to a credit card. That’s bank speak. They would just say things like, I’m affected by the pandemic, how can you help?
Now we have over 60,000 different intents. We pretty quickly turned around a set of language training that we put the machine through about how it could be helpful. Erica can actually say, we have an ability for you to defer your payment. Would you like to do that? And Zack could respond, Oh, yeah, sure, take me there. And we take him to the screen. And next thing you know you made a deferral for a payment. So this idea of being there, being helpful, being contemporary, and updated all the time. We have weekly tuning cycles on the platform. We have monthly new features that go in. And it’s always learning, always adjusting to what your customers are going through. And what they’re getting through is something that we found to be extremely powerful in the last 12 months.”
The pandemic illustrates the potential value of an AI virtual banking assistant that can evolve alongside customer needs. Consumers do not necessarily describe financial problems using the terminology a bank would use internally. Instead of asking specifically about a credit card payment deferral, for example, a customer may simply explain that the pandemic has affected their finances and ask what assistance is available.
Erica’s ability to recognize thousands of these different intents allows Bank of America to translate conversational requests into relevant banking actions. That can reduce the effort required from customers while helping them find available services without navigating menus or determining which banking product or department addresses their problem.
The platform’s ongoing training is also significant. Weekly tuning and regular feature additions allow Erica to respond to changes in customer behavior rather than remaining limited to a fixed set of questions and answers. As financial circumstances change, that flexibility can make automated assistance more useful and relevant.
The rapid growth of Zelle usage during the same period further demonstrates how quickly customers are embracing digital financial services. Together, these trends suggest that artificial intelligence and digital payments will play increasingly important roles in how consumers interact with their banks. An AI virtual banking assistant that understands natural language and guides customers toward appropriate actions can become an important part of delivering timely, personalized service through digital channels.
Overview by Tim Sloane, VP, Payments Innovation at Mercator Advisory Group
