Wells Fargo partners Google Cloud for AI virtual assistant, Fargo
US multinational Wells Fargo is set to rollout a new virtual assistant, named Fargo, which will leverage Google Cloud’s artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to offer a personalised banking experience for customers.
Fargo will leverage natural language processing to offer actionable financial wellness tips
Fargo will be built on Google Cloud’s conversational AI platform Dialogflow, leveraging the language processing capabilities of the platform to understand customers’ intents and provide a tailored response.
Yolande Piazza, vice president of financial services at Google Cloud, says: “By pairing our leading AI and natural language processing capabilities with Wells Fargo’s industry-leading banking experience, we can provide customers with connected, personalized tools that seamlessly blend with their financial needs.”
Catering to a “dramatic surge” in digital banking, Fargo will provide customers with an “intuitive banking journey”, offering instant card freezing capabilities, transaction searches, “meaningful conversations” around financial wellness including budgeting and savings tips, as well as Spanish language capabilities next year.
Citing research conducted this summer by Ipsos on behalf of Wells Fargo, the bank says nearly two thirds (65%) of millennials and Gen Z respondents prefer to use a virtual assistant for customer service needs rather than waiting for a customer service representative on the phone.
Wells Fargo head of consumer and wealth, investment management digital, Michelle Moore says: “This partnership will expand our customers’ digital financial support network by enabling meaningful money conversations conveniently from their mobile device.
“It’s more than just dollars and cents; it’s about uplifting our customers’ emotional and financial wellbeing by understanding their financial goals and providing the most convenient interactions to meet those goals.”
