Virtual assistants

The app allows customers to pick and choose the right private banker for them.

Voice assistants impress at tech demos, but new research shows bank customers aren't ready to ask a speaker about their accounts just yet.

Zach Gipson, chief innovation officer at USAA, believes in putting new technology, like chatbots, out there and learning from customers' reactions.

Wells Fargo on the receiving end of USAA's long-standing intellectual property threat; millions are mad about Erica, Bank of America's virtual assistant; relief may be in reach for bankers fed up with SARs; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Bank of America says its artificial-intelligence assistant isn't likely to listen in on private conversations the way Amazon.com's Alexa did last month.

The rapid adoption of voice assistants only adds to the notion they could one day be disruptors in commerce, payments and financial services.

The main problem is that Amazon's Alexa, Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant can’t yet verify a person’s identity. But there are already workarounds for that issue — and the tech giants may solve it soon.

Discount Bank in Tel Aviv has made several discoveries, including that customers ask more in-depth questions of its bank chatbot than expected.

Consumers are embracing voice assistants. What does this mean for banks’ business models?

U.S. Bank, Bank of America and other firms are looking toward the day when the ultimate virtual assistant arrives, one capable of being personalized and working on any device.

How new developments on many fronts are going to affect the banking business in the coming year and beyond — and what bankers can do to prepare.

A voice banking feature was the overwhelming winner in the Speed Round competition at this year's CUNA Technology Council Conference, but it remains to be seen how widely that technology will be adopted in 2018 and beyond.

Virtual assistants at banks in Israel, Canada and Hong Kong are getting smarter thanks to artificial intelligence.

While technology will let many banks cut staff and reduce the size of branches, factors such as geography, customer demographics and strategic direction will ultimately shape the look and feel of future offices.

The Long Island-based credit union will soon launch on Google Home and the Google Assistant app, and further technological advances are in the pipeline.

Execs from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, BBVA, Ally Bank and others outlined their AI strategies, progress to date and lessons learned at BankAI this week.

Readers react to USAA teaming up with Amazon’s Alexa, how a new Wells Fargo’s scandal could affect arbitration rules, a digital identity startup’s ambitions, and more.

Customers can ask Amazon’s virtual assistant about account balances, spending habits and financial questions that they may be too embarrassed to ask a human.

As the CFPB prods banks to improve their debt collection processes, tech firms are applying artificial intelligence, chatbots and self-service portals to create a more enlightened approach.

The chatbot at DBS’s digital bank in India handles most customer service questions but can also sense when it is time to hand something off to a real person.