The Demand for Conversational AI in Banking is Surging

As one of the Post-Covid challenges, Conversational AI is booming in banking and financial services, and some companies wonder why. It should come as no surprise that conversational AI enables a digital transformation for companies, allowing them to operate more efficiently. But, where the confusion lies is the industry in particular. What's going on in financial services to spur this trend? 

To address this question, we'll discuss challenges and trends in the financial services industry contributing to the growing demand for conversational AI. 

Customers Aren't Happy With Their CX

Consider the last time you interacted with a company in the financial services industry. The odds are that it was an impersonal and likely frustrating experience. Unfortunately, this tends to be the experience in most financial services companies–and customers aren't happy. 

This is why, according to a recent survey by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, 64% of respondents from financial services companies say that improving CX is a top-five priority for the upcoming year. 

Many financial services companies are turning to conversational AI to address this issue. Conversational AI uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) and intuitive learning to determine customers' intent and tone in interactions. The virtual AI assistant can interact with customers according to their responses and individual circumstances and respond accordingly. 

As a result, customers receive a personalized experience with your company–faster and more efficiently than ever before. As opposed to getting left on hold for an hour only to speak with a disgruntled representative, conversational AI ensures consistent quality across interactions–without the wait. With 24/7 availability, customers can get the support they need anytime.

Additionally, as the conversational AI agent can access your company's database, it can automatically gather data from customers' files. If a customer has a question about a bank statement, account balance, or investment, the virtual AI assistant will find the right information and provide it immediately. This expedites customer support and ensures customers get the correct information to move forward with your business. 

By improving and accelerating these interactions between your business and customers, the customer experience is significantly enhanced. You're more likely to upsell, retain, and attract customers. 

Rising Need For Agility

The financial services industry is fast-moving and constantly changing. With each market fluctuation, new regulation, or change in customer demand, your company must quickly adjust operations. Unfortunately, fast changes require flexibility, and most companies aren't prepared to break existing systems at a moment's notice. 

To make matters worse, siloed workflows can make it impossible to transition quickly to new practices, essentially leaving companies stuck in their ways. If your company can't react quickly to changes, your customers will likely find someone who can. Having recognized this challenge, financial services companies face a growing need for agility in their business processes. 

Fortunately, conversational AI is a fluid and flexible solution, one that can change as your business and customers do. Conversational AI solutions are easy to implement, allowing companies to customize their virtual AI assistants as needed. Plus, the solution will continuously gather data from your database and customer interactions, meaning that it can be trained to constantly expand its knowledge base.

Even beyond the wealth of knowledge available through conversational AI, its task automation capabilities further enable agility. Your conversational AI solution will automate time-consuming tasks that typically occur during a transition, giving your employees more time to focus on strategic projects. Instead of scrambling to adapt to market changes, conversational AI can guide your organization through seamless transitions–time and time again. 

The Search for Cost Savings

Companies of all industries are constantly looking for ways to cut costs, and the financial services industry is no exception. However, this industry shows ample potential for cost savings through the adoption of conversational AI. 

Reports suggest that by 2023, conversational AI will help financial institutions save $7.3 billion and approximately half a million (862 million hours) working years. So, where are these cost savings coming from? Primarily reduced support costs. As conversational AI agents are available 24/7, businesses can operate more efficiently. 

Customer inquiries and repetitive tasks can be completed around the clock–at a fraction of the cost. This means that during working hours, your workforce can spend their time on more value-add projects because all of the time-consuming, tedious tasks are taken care of. 

Additionally, the improved customer experience that comes as a result of conversational AI helps you increase revenue. Plus, as conversational AI can assist customers in many time zones and languages, with extensive knowledge of your business, it helps increase sales. So with better CX, customers are more likely to stay (and spend) with your organization.

It's Time for Digitization

Most leading financial institutions have been in the business for a while. This may be beneficial in terms of credibility and an established customer base, customers are changing–and your business needs to change with them. Unfortunately, most financial services companies are outdated regarding digitized business practices, which is why 83% are actively investing in improving digital customer solutions. 

While tech-savvy customers are seeking digital solutions, it's important to note precisely what kind of digitization customers crave. Customers want the convenience and accessibility of digital solutions such as conversational AI, but they don't want an entirely human-less experience. After all, it's frustrating to be limited to selecting from a list of options rather than speaking freely. Fortunately, conversational AI offers the best of both worlds. 

Conversational AI combines the empathy and intellect of humans with the convenience and speed of technology–which is the hybrid solution requested by 62% of customer respondents. By implementing conversational AI, you can get your foot in the door to digitization while providing customers with the perfect balance of technical efficiency and personalized CX. 

Conversational AI is the Future of Financial Services

These challenges and trends in the financial services industry are the primary contributors to the surge in demand for conversational AI. With this solution, companies can dramatically improve their CX, achieve agility, cut costs, and more. While this boom in demand may be relatively recent, it shows no signs of slowing.

Conversational AI can provide the financial services industry with the efficiency and automation necessary to meet customer demands and maintain a thriving business.

Interested in learning how DRUID’s conversational AI has helped businesses in financial services overcome their challenges? Download this case study!