Chatbots: Do they really deliver better customer experience?

Two years ago, SBI launched a chat bot, the SBI Intelligent Assistant (SIA), in association with Payjo. It was created to help customers with day to day banking tasks just like a bank representative. It was set up to handle nearly 10,000 enquiries per second or 864 million a day.

During its launch, Shiv Kumar Bhasin, SBI’s then CTO said, “SIA will enhance customer service with conversational banking. We look forward to taking it and simplifying the customer’s lives on multiple customer interaction platforms in partnership with Payjo.”

SBI was not the first to jump onto the chatbot bandwagon. Earlier that year, HDFC Bank had launched an electronic virtual assistant (EVA). It was touted as India’s first AI-based banking chatbot, which could answer millions of customer queries across multiple channels instantly.

Over the past couple of years, banking institutions are increasingly using chat bots based on machine learning, advanced analytics and AI to enhance customer experience. And they have many reasons for making this shift.

From an inclination to adopt innovation to automate processes, they are attempting to create an ecosystem based on technology that will benefit customers and reduce operational costs. They believe that use of chatbots based on advanced analytics and predictive modelling can also provide customers with self-service options, which results in faster decision making and better turnaround time.

However, does this really translate into higher customer experience? Anand Parameswaran, Executive VP, Insights Division, Kantar is not completely convinced. He said, “Self-service is fundamentally about choice, not technology. It may be tempting to roll out new mobile apps and chatbots. But what will be most important for banks is to create a holistic experience that allows customers to pick and choose the journey that is best for them.”

His conjecture is borne out in the recent Kantar CX Retail Banking 2019 report. 69% of Indian respondents from the 7280 people totally surveyed cited ATMs were their preferred channel of communication with banks, while 47% said it was their mobiles. Among their chief reasons for using these services, 45% of consumers are attracted by the prospect of not having to visit a branch in person. “This desire for greater choice and autonomy is also fuelling the growth of digital-only neo banks,” Parameswaran added.

The report advises that banks should use technology to delight the growing Indian middle class and leverage mobile access to remote parts of the country. This is where a large and potential customer base for Indian banks is quickly expanding. It is also where new technologies and digital experiences, from AI-driven personalization to chatbot financial advisors will help banks deliver customer centric services and have better customer engagement.