Valeria Cecchetelli, Customer Center Leader for Banco BPM, led a captivating panel discussion on the crossroads of customer care in banking and generative artificial intelligence (AI). The conversation explored the potentials and challenges of weaving Conversational AI into customer service and internal use cases. Federica Botti from EY and Andrea D’Onofrio from Microsoft also shared insights, shedding light on various AI applications. These ranged from boosting existing virtual assistant capabilities to leveraging AI for internal training.
Mixing the Old with the New: Generative AI + Virtual Assistants
During the conversation, Valeria explained how Banco BPM has been using a Teneo virtual assistant, for 15 years. The solution handles over 75% of their customer service interactions with a commendable 90% accuracy level. The discussion pivoted around how generative AI could further enhance this already robust system without discarding the existing technological framework.
Our team at Banco BPM has been working with a Teneo virtual assistant for the last 15 years. It was created with the Teneo platform by Artificial Solutions, which has allowed us to combine AI technology and Machine Learning. We use it with great satisfaction because now, over 75% of our customer service interactions go through the virtual assistant. The quality of the solution is very high, boasting an accuracy level of 90%, and it also covers a very broad range of topics at the level of the knowledge base.
Valeria Cecchetelli
Customer Center Leader for Banco BPM
Federica emphasized the importance of integrating generative AI to complement and elevate the existing machine learning and logic of a Virtual Assistant, thereby not only preserving but also enhancing the investments already made in the current system.
For companies that have already invested significant time and effort in developing a virtual assistant, it’s not about discarding all the previous work. Integrating generative AI can profoundly impact your existing solutions. In fact, it’s fundamental to utilize and preserve what has already been accomplished because the functionalities of generative AI will complement what machine learning and the classic logic of a Virtual Assistant have achieved until now.
Federica Botti
Intelligent Automation Senior Manager Financial Services for EY
Using a Generative AI Virtual Assistant Trainers
A particularly intriguing point of discussion was the potential application of generative AI for internal use, specifically as a virtual trainer for Banco BPM’s agents amidst their commercial transformation and digital branch development. Valeria envisioned a system where agents could simulate customer interactions, practicing sales pitches and assistance consulting activities before engaging with actual customers. Federica and Andrea affirmed this use case, highlighting that with the right training, using real inputs, product documentation, and customer interaction scripts, a generative AI model could indeed serve as a high-performance training tool.
Moreover, Andrea emphasized the concept of AI as a “CoPilot”, enhancing the capabilities of the expert team, which remains crucial for continuously monitoring and tuning the AI model to ensure its effectiveness and compliance. The panelists also discussed the importance of maintaining compliance in AI-generated texts, emphasizing domain closure, implementation of rules, and rigorous training to ensure conversations and responses remain within defined and compliant parameters.
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Generative AI Virtual Assistants for Sales
In the context of utilizing AI in commercial processes, Federica underscored the necessity of high-quality responses from virtual assistants, ensuring customer readiness for such interactions, and maintaining a customer-centric approach, especially in resolving issues before initiating sales conversations.
The panel concluded with a consensus on the promising capabilities of generative AI in enhancing customer service interactions and internal training while highlighting the importance of strategic integration, continuous oversight, and maintaining a balance between technological advancement and customer readiness and satisfaction. This insightful discussion not only illuminated the path forward for Banco BPM but also provided valuable takeaways for any banking institution looking to navigate the integration of generative AI into their customer service and internal operations.
Watch the full presentation below. The content is in Italian but you can change the close captions can be auto-translated into English by changing the settings.