At a Glance

  • Bank of America said Tuesday it has added generative AI capabilities to EricaAssist, its AI assistant for customer service employees, enabling it to provide real-time suggestions. The bank disclosed this in apress release.
  • The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said the enhancements provide personalized guidance in seconds, allowing customer needs to be met more quickly.
  • "This is really about helping our employees serve customers better and do their jobs more efficiently and effectively," Ashley Ross, head of consumer client experience and business transformation at Bank of America, said in an interview. "Anything that makes interactions between customers and employees smoother is a win."

In-Depth Analysis

Erica is Bank of America's customer-facingAI-driven virtual assistant, while EricaAssist is an internal tool used by about 18,000 bank customer service employees during interactions with customers.

Ross said the AI agent runs as a desktop widget on employees' computers, working alongside them to help them access information in seconds. According to the bank, EricaAssist has reduced average call handling time by nearly one minute.

EricaAssist informs employees of the reason for the customer's call, how long the customer has been with Bank of America, and other details. Employees can also ask the AI agent questions while assisting customers.

The new generative AI capability, now live, "can assist employees at a specific moment, telling them what the best next suggestion might be," Tom Ellis, chief information officer and head of consumer technology at Bank of America, said in an interview.

He added that the bank expects to see "tangible benefits" in resolution time and customer experience.

Ellis noted that previously, customer service employees had to multitask—listening to the customer while searching for policies, procedures, and next steps.

Now, "we have a stronger ability to understand what's happening in the conversation," Ellis said, "and then summarize based on the conversation content and provide recommendations."

Ross said Bank of America plans to add more features to EricaAssist and will incorporate employee feedback as it executes those plans.

The bank, with $3.5 trillion in assets, plans to roll out EricaAssist to more service scenarios and business lines later this year. The bank spends about $14 billion annually on technology, with roughly $4 billion allocated to new initiatives including AI.

"Empowering our employees with these advanced capabilities is helping Ashley and me think about where we should go next on the digital front," Ellis said.