Bank of America’s Virtual Assistant Reaches 2 Million Interactions Per Day

Bank of America’s virtual financial assistant, Erica, is now engaging with clients 2 million times per day.

Clients’ use of the virtual assistant has accelerated since its launch in 2018, the bank said in a Monday (April 8) press release.

While it took four years for Erica to reach 1 billion interactions, it took only 18 months to add another 1 billion, according to the release.

“Erica acts as both a personal concierge and mission control for our clients,” Nikki Katz, head of digital at Bank of America, said in the release. “Erica meets clients where they are and when they need us and has become a true guide by their side.”

The 2 billion interactions the virtual assistant has had over the past six years include 1.2 billion deliveries of personalized insights and guidance, per the release. The most common examples of this include helping clients monitor and manage recurring subscriptions, understand spending behaviors, and stay informed about deposits and refunds.

The total number of interactions also includes 800 million answers to clients’ inquiries, according to the release. Frequent calls for assistance from clients include requesting an account number or routing number, finding transactions, and assistance with money transfers and bill pay, the release said.

Erica provides answers to clients within 44 seconds, on average, in more than 98% of cases, per the release. When further assistance is needed for more complex questions, Bank of America’s chat capability connects clients with a live representative.

To keep the virtual assistant’s answers and insights timely, the bank’s data science team has made more than 50,000 updates to its performance since launch, the release said.

“Erica is a great example of applied innovation in language processing and predictive analytics to deliver a valuable and empowering client experience,” Hari Gopalkrishnan, chief information officer and consumer, business and wealth management technology executive at Bank of America, said in the release.

PYMNTS Intelligence found that digital-first consumers increasingly expect that hands-free voice technologies make their everyday routines intuitive, simple and more connected.

Fifty-eight percent of consumers said they would use voice because it is easier and more convenient than doing tasks manually, and 54% said they would use it because it is faster than typing or using a touchscreen.

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