From queues to quick answers: how GenAI helps banking customers
We've come a long way since the days when you had to stand in a long queue for just about any interaction with your bank. Banking apps are now ubiquitous, and they offer a high level of self-service to take care of customers' routine needs.
But there are still times when you have to contact your bank – it might be for more advanced reasons or your query requires a more personalized approach – and it's likely that you don't look forward to navigating through endless phone menus or automatically being placed on hold.
The good news is that this is another area where GenAI is making it easier to do business.
Just like your banking app, a GenAI bot is always on duty, even when the banks are closed. But unlike with the app, which also requires navigation, you get to talk to a machine that understands you.
You're also not limited to the standard menu options on the app – instead, you can ask questions like, "Why was there a charge on my account?" or "How do I set up mobile alerts?" The GenAI bot will understand and promptly provide clear answers in conversational form, or even action them for you without you needing to lift a finger.
GenAI is your new personal bank assistant
To create virtual customer-service agents for our clients in the banking industry, we have combined NTT DATA's global expertise in building custom GenAI bots and the integration of our leading voice services – with Microsoft's suite of GenAI products.
Everything comes together in a three-part ecosystem: the customers, the virtual agent or bot they will engage with, and the human contact-center agents.
1. Ease of use for customers
When customers contact the bank's contact center through email, a web chat or a service number, the virtual agent will pick up their query or answer the call – and language barriers are no challenge, as the bot can translate in real time.
While the bot is attending to the issue, it can give real-time progress updates – "Just a moment, your request is being escalated" or "I'm working on it!" – to the customer, which means they're not kept waiting impatiently for an update.
The bot can also help to educate customers on the self-service actions they can take on the bank's app, for example, or recommend ways of saving money.
2. What the virtual agent does
Copilot for Microsoft 365 is Microsoft's powerful GenAI tool for smart workplace collaboration and communication across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
We use the development platform Microsoft Copilot Studio and Microsoft Power Platform to build customized bots, which then work seamlessly with other Microsoft products like Dynamics 365 Contact Center, the full-service customer-service platform.
The bot can handle queries on any of the communication channels available to a bank’s customers. For example, instead of immediately forwarding every call to a human agent, it can automatically find answers to frequently asked questions from the bank's knowledge base.
So, when customers ask questions like, "Where is my closest ATM?" or "What are the opening hours for my closest branch?", the bot will consult the knowledge base and give a clear answer.
The same goes for self-service requests, such as making transfers, resetting online banking passwords or checking account balances. The bot can act on these requests immediately without involving a human agent.
Throughout these processes, top-notch security features built into the bot will protect the bank and the customer's data.
3. Human agents can now work more efficiently
If a customer has a more serious or complex request, such as a technical issue with their online banking, the bot will capture the details and context and escalate the call to the right human agent.
For a large, multinational bank, this might be a customer-service agent at a centrally located contact center that uses Dynamics 365 Contact Center to manage calls. The agent will receive the full context of the call from the bot without having to ask the customer for the details again.
Similarly, some types of requests, such as a customer wanting to apply for a home loan, can be routed to a local branch of the bank for their attention.
A strong partnership
Using GenAI in this way to streamline the customer experience in banking shows the power of NTT DATA's long-standing partnership with Microsoft. We customize and deploy Microsoft's innovative GenAI technology in our banking clients' operations, train their employees, and work with them to review and update their business and contact-center processes.
Over time, as customers interact with the virtual service agent, we make sure it learns from its experiences so it can offer more relevant solutions. And we analyze its output to identify customer issues for which better solutions are needed.
For the customers, it's like having their own banker on call. And less customer stress means more brand loyalty – a winning situation for any bank.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
Read more about NTT DATA's Copilot for Microsoft 365 services to see how we can help you improve employee experience and boost productivity.
Jacqueline Chan
Product Marketing Manager, Digital Collaboration Services at NTT DATA