Artificial Intelligence to transform bank's customer experience

Banks will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help understand the intentions and emotions of customers and enable better interactions, according to a new report from Accenture.

According to the report, more than three-quarters (78 percent) of bankers globally and 87 percent in India believe that AI will enable simpler user interfaces that will help banks create a more human-like customer experience. In addition, four out of five global respondents and almost nine out of ten bankers in India believe that AI will revolutionize the way banks gather information and interact with customers.

Indian banks are embracing digital solutions for interacting with customers; the next step is implementing the enabling power of artificial intelligence (AI), such as identifying consumer preferences and then reacting with insight and emotional intelligence,” says Piyush Singh, managing director and head of Accenture Financial Services group in India.

“In addition to gaining insights, banks could transform customer experience and improve operational efficiency. However, the challenge will be how quickly banks can implement these new technologies as banks continue to face legacy issues with their existing IT set up. This would require a C-suite-led impetus to embrace new technologies.”

The report finds that while human contact is diminishing in terms of volume, the quality and importance of human touch points will increase. For instance, one-third of the bankers surveyed globally and almost similar number in India said they plan to use a detailed understanding of human behavior to guide new customer experiences. Nearly nine in 10 bankers said they believe that their customers are satisfied with their bank’s use of personalization, two-thirds globally and in India claim they struggle to understand their customers’ needs and goals.

Many banks are already giving authorized third-parties access to account data and aggregated card profiles to benefit customers. Banks recognize that it is critical to participate in these ecosystems, but it comes at a cost. Three-quarters of respondents globally and four out of five in India said that participating in these ecosystems would require giving up control in favor of an overall better outcome — such as speed, agility and access to new customers — and that same number believe that chosen partners and ecosystems will help determine their bank’s competitive advantage moving forward.

The report, Accenture Banking Technology Vision 2017, draws on the analysis of an advisory board of more than two dozen individuals, interviews with technology luminaries and industry experts, and results of a survey of more than 600 bankers. In parallel, Accenture Research conducted a global online survey of more than 5,400 business and IT executives across 31 countries and 16 industries to capture insights into the adoption of emerging technologies.