A virtual consultant has been launched at SEB banka

Since the beginning of November, a virtual client consultant has been launched at SEB banka across the Baltics. It will help the bank’s customers to communicate with the bank even faster and 24 hours a day. The functions of the virtual customer consultant will be expanded gradually. Currently it can provide answers in four languages on various daily banking services aimed at individuals, e.g., on cards, loans and e-services.

One can start a conversation with the virtual consultant from any device, by opening the chat window on SEB banka’s website. Until now, online chatting had been carried out by the staff of the Customer Centre. Now this is primarily the task of artificial intelligence. If the virtual consultant does not understand the question and is unable to provide a complete answer, the customer is redirected to the relevant bank’s staff (a living being). Since the beginning of November, the virtual assistant has provided more than 280 consultations in Latvia, 70% of which it was able to answer himself.

“As technology is evolving, the way customers communicate with companies has changed. With the increasing use of remote communication possibilities, customers are eager to get the response immediately, therefore communication over email or telephone has been gradually replacing communication via chats or social networks. That’s why we have launched a virtual consultant to answer the customers’ questions promptly 24 hours a day, while simultaneously facilitating the daily work of the bank's staff. As customers most often ask questions about standard services such as card replacement or card blocking, artificial intelligence can be taught to resolve various scenarios. Training is a complicated process, because having worked with customers we know how different questions can be and that understanding of the banking services is required. To be able to successfully communicate with a virtual consultant, it is important to be able to formulate a brief or concise statement or explain the case,” says Ilja Nogicevs, Head of Digital Development at SEB banka.

The creation of SEB banka’s virtual consultant has also created new jobs in all Baltic countries. A dedicated team of coaches takes care that the virtual consultant learns and improves the answers provided by analysing the questions asked by customers and their responses.

“On average, the staff of the Customer Centre of SEB banka respond to 1,400 phone calls, about 350 emails, 40 chat conversations a day, as well as numerous questions via social networks, so we’re always looking for new ways of serving our customers effectively to meet their desires and needs. Customers are increasingly using video tutorials to communicate with the bank to save time. However, in cases where visiting the bank in person is required, pre-booking the most convenient time at one of the bank’s branches is possible. Our customers also appreciate the possibility of receiving the renewed expired payment cards by post,” adds Ilja Nogicevs.