How much would you discuss with Erica, Nomi or Eno? And no, those aren’t people, but virtual assistants provided by some of the largest banks in North America.
Artificial intelligence has become a hot topic, and even more so in relation to chatbots and virtual assistants. But just how comfortable is a customer speaking to them instead of a human? According to a report put out by Capital One along with research firm Wakefield, 56% of people surveyed said they are more comfortable talking to a bot than a human about money and other “uncomfortable” topics (health, love, professional advice, etc). Of this group, two-thirds were — surprise, surprise — millennials.
And among these various topics, “finance (banking & investing)” was the most preferred topics that people feel most comfortable talking about with an AI assistant. The report goes so far as to say that people are more comfortable talking to a bot on the topic of finance than a human being.
Now, whether that’s because people are being conditioned to speak to bots on this topic thanks to the growing presence of bank-backed AIs bots or if these bots are simply more helpful than humans, is not something the report explores. If it is the former, then indeed the market is becoming inundated with these chat bots, almost as if they’ve become an expected part of a bank’s services. Right now, Bank of America is in the midst of rolling out its virtual assistant Erica across the nation by the end of summer. Capital One has Eno, and Canadian bank BMO is working on adding more voice-related features to its existing assistant, Nomi. Then there are third-party AI companies like New York.-based Kasisto, Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Clinc or Vancouver, B.C.-based Finn.AI, focused specifically on helping banks create these bots.
Safe to say there is a wide availability of virtual assistants in the markets. And unlike their human counterparts, they are available 24/7 and can perform certain tasks instantly. But really, when it comes down to it, who has time to call their bank when you can text?
See the full report here.
For the report, 1,000 banking customers of 18 years or older were surveyed.






