Most virtual assistants are reactive, but Capital One is training its virtual assistant, Eno, to be proactive, according to Ken Dodelin, VP of conversational AI products at the bank.

“Most [virtual assistants] are chasing reactive customer questions,” Dodelin told Bank Innovation. “We are doing some of that, but the biggest update in our plan is to make Eno more proactive with the intention of evolving the relationship between customer and bank.”

One example of this, Dodelin said, is Eno’s latest tax feature. Eno sifts through a customer’s expenses throughout the year, and then sends the customer a list of tax-deductible items.

“This is the first year that Eno has provided this to customers on a large scale,” he said. “So far, Eno pointed out $2 billion dollars’ worth of deductible items to customers. And part of the magic here is that users didn’t ask for this service. We anticipated that this could be a useful tool for them and gave it to customers without them asking for it.”

A proactive approach, particularly when it comes to solving customer problems, is lacking among most digital banking channels that exist right now.

Phil Ryan, director of communications at CCG Catalyst, at BI Ignite 2019 in Seattle last week noted that in a recent CCG survey, 42% of respondents said they turned to their bank’s call center when faced with a serious problem. About 30% visited a branch when they encountered a problem and only 11% chose a self-service option, he said. 

One reason, Ryan explained, is because a lot of banks don’t have virtual assistants. Currently, only a handful of banks have them. These banks include Bank of America with Erica; Royal Bank of Canada with Nomi; Capital One with Eno and, most recently, TD Bank with TD Clari.

But there is also another reason. 

“[The survey results] suggest that more resources need to be put into mobile to allow people to have a more complete customer journey,” Ryan said on a panel at BI Ignite in Seattle last week. “Definitely, when the chips are down, people want to hear a human voice.”

And indeed, the self-service options like chatbots, mobile apps and virtual assistants available are not adequately equipped to solve most customer problems, sometimes even simple ones.

BofA’s Erica, for instance, is perfect for checking balances, or transferring funds – both reactive transactions. Erica also provides spending insights and allows for goal setting, which can be considered proactive transactions, but if Erica is asked “Why was my card declined?” or “Why do I have a double charge on my statement?” the customer will be redirected to the bank’s customer service center.

“When you think about the things a human assistant would do, looking through your transactions for anomalies like fraud, double charges, or something like the customer left an unusually large tip at a restaurant, that’s something the virtual assistant needs to point out to the user,” Dodelin said. “And not just that, but also provide them with a path to resolve the issue.”

Also Read: Why Bank of America’s Erica Cannot Help with Complex Transactions

Eno currently points out transaction anomalies and fraud instances, he said. More features of this nature are on the roadmap for Eno later this year, he added.

“We are being very intentional about what we want the virtual assistant to be,” Dodelin said. “And what we want it to be is available through the communication mode of the customer’s choice: texting, mobile app, website, browser extension, you name it.”

Eno is trained and designed through integrated teams across the bank’s product, marketing, design and innovation departments, Dodelin explained. For its conversational skills, Eno is trained using live customer chat transcripts, “to teach Eno the vocabulary of how people talk about money.”

Eno has millions of users, Dodelin said, although he declined to disclose the exact number.

On the other hand, BofA’s Erica has 4.8 million users, according to its most recent fourth-quarter report. The bank has 26.4 million active mobile users and 32.2 million digital users (mobile and online combined), based on the same report.