Bank of America and Its AI Star Erica in Numbers

Virtual assistant Erica, launched by Bank of America in 2018, has become the most widely used AI tool in finance. Since then, it has helped nearly 50 million users and surpassed 3 billion client interactions. It now handles an average of more than 58 million interactions per month.

Personalized Help at Your Fingertips

Clients appreciate how Erica provides proactive and personalized advice. To date, it has sent more than 1.7 billion personalized notifications that help people better manage their spending, budgets, and savings. For example, it highlights cash back offers in the BankAmeriDeals program based on shopping habits, warns about projected account balance trends over the next seven days, or provides information about eligibility for the Preferred Rewards program, which increases the value of clients’ relationships with the bank. For Merrill clients, it offers advice on nearly 50 topics related to investing, banking, and retirement savings. It even allows clients to schedule an appointment directly through it, seamlessly connecting them with personalized service.

Efficiency and Time Savings

People have already spent more than 18.7 million hours in conversations with Erica. Over 98% of users find the information they need right away, which has significantly reduced the number of calls to call centers—by as much as 50% for IT support. This allows specialists to focus on more complex financial questions. Bank of America’s data scientists trained Erica to respond to millions of queries using a library of more than 700 responses. Since its launch, it has undergone over 75,000 updates to make it even better. Over the next year, the bank plans to expand its capabilities with even more personalized advice to help clients better understand their finances.

Expansion Across the Bank

Erica is not limited to personal banking—it is integrated throughout the Bank of America ecosystem. For example, Merrill uses tools such as ask MERRILL and ask PRIVATE BANK, which assist wealth management teams with 23 million interactions annually, enabling them to provide information and connect with clients more quickly. In CashPro Chat, designed for corporate clients, it handles over 40 percent of interactions and assists with reviewing transactions or account information—65% of clients use it. Even bank employees use it: Erica for Employees has cut calls for IT assistance in half and will soon expand to provide broader support, including answers to questions about the bank’s products.

Awards and the Future

This approach to AI has earned Bank of America several awards. It was recently named the best U.S. consumer bank for the use of AI by Global Finance magazine, which also named Erica the best chatbot in the U.S. and North America. According to Hari Gopalkrishnan, Head of Technology and Information at Bank of America, Erica has been learning from client interactions for years, making it possible to scale AI globally. Nikki Katz, Head of Digital Services, adds that Erica is the foundation for combining advanced technology with a personal touch. With plans for further expansion, Erica is becoming an even more powerful tool for millions of people around the world.

Source: www.prnewswire.com