One year after the launch of Bank of America’s AI-powered digital assistant Erica, customers are starting to get comfortable turning to it for reports on their spending activity and for day-to-day tasks like paying bills and peer-to-peer payments. In fact, the bank said Erica’s user base surpassed 7 million users this week.

With Erica, Bank of America developed a digital banking experience that encompassed voice, in-app messaging and predictive analytics. Joining other large banks investing in AI-powered tools, including RBC’s NOMI and Capital One’s Eno, the digital assistant so far has handled more than 50 million client requests, according to the bank. Beyond just assisting customers with day-to-day tasks, however, it also serves as a vehicle to help the bank determine its bigger plans for the evolution of its products and services.

Christian Kitchell, AI solutions and Erica executive at Bank of America, told Bank Innovation that the digital assistant’s behavioral insights will influence future feature releases, including more detailed spending reports and guidance, along with debt management, account monitoring and savings discovery tools. “The key value proposition of Erica goes well beyond the conversational nature of the interface,”  said Kitchell. “It gives amazing visibility into client behaviors —  [through it] we have opportunities either to refine Erica from a conversational perspective or, more broadly, inform the roadmap from an overall digital perspective.”

After reviewing user interaction data, one surprise was Erica’s appeal across generational categories. Its users were 49% millennials, 20% Generation X , 16% Baby Boomers or seniors and 15% Generation Z, according to the bank. While customers can interact with Erica through voice or in-app chat, voice-based communication made up only 13% of interactions with Erica, compared to 40% of interactions that were carried out via in-app chat.

“Folks think [voice] is really interesting and cool at first, but then we do see that that usage trail off a little bit when folks settle into their day-to-day routine,” said Kitchell. “I think that’s a really good indicator that we’re really, really early in this [voice] game.”

The biggest challenge with user adoption was getting over a nervousness around trying something new, including security concerns. “There is still some apprehension from folks from a privacy perspective,” Kitchell said, noting that the bank is trying to be as proactive as possible about informing customers about the safety of using Erica. The bank doesn’t have any active listening capabilities for voice-based interactions.

As product offerings from banks and fintech startups become more commoditized, the differentiator is going to be on service. Indeed, Erica represents an opportunity for Bank of America to develop a more personal relationship with customers.

“Erica puts a face to digital banking,” said Tiffani Montez, senior analyst at Aite Group. “You’re seeing that people are starting to interact with her and are starting to trust her to answer more complex questions. Over time, [customers] will develop a relationship with that particular brand.”

In addition, through predictive insights that warn customers when their balances will drop to zero, Erica represents a new business model for a legacy institution, one where revenue from longer-term relationships will trump fee revenue. It’s a shift not all large institutions will want to make.

“It’s gutsy,” said Bob Meara, senior analyst with Celent’s banking practice. “Many banks have been addicted to [fee] income for decades, so for a big bank to proactively seek to reduce it in the name of improving customer experience and adding value, I think that’s laudable.”