In the recent years, companies have been dedicating a lot of effort towards researching the possible benefits of AI and machine learning in the financial industry. Thanks to the abilities these technologies provide, the market offering is being enhanced with smarter, more powerful and ‘intelligent’ solutions, which are much better at servicing customers’ needs. Today, both B2B and B2C companies are aiming to integrate this innovation in their everyday operation in order to effectively stimulate vertical and horizontal growth.

There are many factors that enabled AI to make its way into the banking sector: the need for optimized and robust processing, popularization of mobile technology, access to big data, proliferation of open-source software etc. Although AI algorithms can be useful for various tasks, one of the main application domains is mobile banking, investment and budgeting apps.

Chatbots and virtual personal assistants allowed companies to bring their customer support to a new level, while optimizing costs and personnel involvement. Performing simple daily tasks, giving personalized advice and enhancing customer experience – AI is capable to achieve all of that. Automated customer service assistants gather the necessary data from the customer’s mobile device and provides relevant information that helps solve the issue of the user. Most importantly, it works in a fast mode and is not restricted to working hours, as it is the case with human employees.
Banking apps also use AI-related features to show services, promote offers and provide insights depending on the user’s behavior. The profound analysis of available data helps increase the personalization of communication with the user, which contributes to better experience with the app and thus increases customer loyalty. This is a great benefit for digital wealth management services, where highly personalized portfolios have been the main trend.

As mentioned prior, AI can do wonders in personalized planning. For instance, a user can set a goal of buying a new car and a time horizon by which he wants to accomplish it. The artificial intelligence inside the mobile banking app will then suggest an optimal budgeting plan, based on current income and expenditure.

This brings us to the main benefits that the banking sector can leverage from using AI:

• Reduced workload;
• Accumulation and profound analysis of customer data;
• Higher personalization of products and services, as well as the communication with the customer;
• Unprecedentedly efficient customer support;
• Better risk management;
• Fraud detection and prevention.

In a nutshell, AI is expected to revolutionize the banking industry in the next few years by bringing some profound changes to the way everyday operational tasks are conducted. And the sooner banks, banking services providers and other industry players begin incorporating AI tools – the better for them.