Chatbots Your Personal Finance Relationship Manager

Financial institutions are increasingly using chatbots to improve customer experience.

- Anagh Pal

Interestingly, the history of chatbots goes back decades ago. In 1966 Joseph Weizenbaum, a German computer scientist and Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed a program called ELIZA whose purpose was to trick users into believing that they were conversing with a real human being.

Chatbot is a computer program that simulates conversation with a human, usually over the Internet. Fast forward 2018, chatbots have come a long way and the financial services industry is keen on adopting it.

Analysts at consultancy firm Juniper Research predicted in 2017 that by 2022, banks could automate up to 90 percent of their interactions with chatbots. A report in the same year published by HubSpot said that 40 percent of consumers do not care whether a chatbot or a real human helps them, as long as they are getting the help they need.

Adoption of chatbots

No wonder, the financial services industry is keen to use chatbots. “A chatbot is an answer for offering customer assistance in the most convenient way. This intelligent chatty friend makes customer conversations easier and faster thus earning customer delight” says Pankaj Razdan, MD and CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance and Deputy CE, Aditya Birla Capital. Chatbots also help financial institutions boost profits by optimally using their resources.

According to Arun Chaudhry, head—online business and product development, Motilal Oswal Securities, “Chatbots are increasingly becoming popular in Banking, Financial, Services and Insurance (BFSI) space as they provide a clear edge in enhancing customer satisfaction”.