Resona Bank to adopt AI engine that works 4,000 times faster than humans

The customer service departments at financial companies are the first to feel the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) advances, and another piece of proof for this claim comes from Japan’s Resona Bank. The bank will be using an AI engine that works 4,000 faster than humans and this solution will be implemented in the company’s customer service department.

KIBIT, an AI solution developed by FRONTEO Inc (TYO:2158), will analyze interview transcripts, such as those of exchanges between Resona Bank branch officers and customers. KIBIT will analyze texts that contain recommendations for financial products, customer reactions to the recommendations, and customer service requests, in order to enable Resona Bank to respond to customer needs quickly and efficiently.

The volume of interview transcripts at Resona Bank branches has ballooned. Previously, these were sorted manually by staff members and forwarded to the relevant department for follow-up. This method required a great deal of time to verify contents and resulted in variations in sorting. Thanks to the adoption of KIBIT, Resona Bank seeks to be able to sort and respond to questionnaires efficiently and with high precision.

Resona Bank’s adoption of KIBIT follows a proof of concept trial which began in January 2017, during which KIBIT utilized a variety of internal records of the bank as a learning material.

Resona Bank’s move underlines the increasing adoption of AI solutions by Japanese financial services companies. Earlier this month, Aeon Financial Service Co Ltd (TYO:8570) said it will re-assign some of the staff that currently work at the credit card counters, as their place will be taken by the Pepper humanoid robot. Aeon intends to deploy 30 or more Pepper robots in the short term, with the machines to work at desks at Aeon Bank branches and Aeon Mall-operated shopping centers. The Pepper robot may interact with up to three customers at a time.