Digital banks are reshaping the financial industry with convenient, fully online services that prioritise accessibility and efficiency. To stay competitive in this growing sector, they must adopt innovative solutions that enhance customer experience and streamline operations.
Conversational AI plays a crucial role in this transformation, offering real-time, personalized support while automating routine tasks. By improving customer satisfaction and operational efficiency, AI enables digital banks to scale services effectively without compromising quality, making it a vital tool in today’s tech-driven market.
In this case study, we explore how Tonik Bank, a leading digital bank in the Philippines, leveraged Gupshup’s Conversation Cloud—powered by advanced AI and automation tools—to enhance customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
The Challenge
As a digital-first bank, Tonik aimed to stand out by delivering a seamless, efficient customer experience superior to traditional banks. To meet the demands of its growing user base, the bank sought innovative solutions to reduce response times, automate routine tasks, enhance customer satisfaction and engagement, and boost operational efficiency while cutting costs.
Tonik recognised that addressing these challenges would not only retain existing customers but also attract new users to its platform.
The Objective
Tonik outlined clear goals for its partnership with Gupshup:
- Enable instant access to customer support and information.
- Reduce reliance on traditional channels by adopting AI-driven solutions.
- Deliver personalised and efficient customer interactions.
- Enhance operational efficiency by automating routine tasks.
By achieving these objectives, Tonik aimed to establish itself as a leader in customer experience while scaling its operations cost-effectively.
The Solution
To address Tonik’s objectives, Gupshup implemented a comprehensive strategy leveraging Generative AI and automation technologies. At the core of this approach was the integration of a Generative AI-powered chatbot tailored specifically for Tonik’s mobile app. This advanced chatbot managed a wide range of customer interactions, providing instant responses to queries, engaging in contextual and personalised conversations, and assisting with routine banking tasks such as balance inquiries and transactions.
In addition to enhancing responsiveness, Gupshup automated routine customer service tasks, allowing human agents to concentrate on more complex, high-value interactions. This shift not only improved the efficiency of the customer care team but also significantly reduced response times.
To improve AI accuracy and reduce manual retraining, Gupshup took a multi-model approach combining Gupshup’s fine-tuned ACE LLM (built atop foundational models) with traditional NLP models, optimizing for latency, response quality, and cost-effectiveness.
As a result, the chatbot now autonomously resolves 75% of customer queries, covering a wide range of topics from FAQs about account opening and information about loan products. This significantly reduces the need for human intervention. Additionally, ACE LLM’s fine-tuning reduces AI hallucinations, ensuring high accuracy and reliability.
To ensure sustained success, Gupshup established regular feedback loops and performance reviews, continuously optimizing the system for maximum effectiveness and adaptability.
The Result
The partnership between Tonik and Gupshup yielded remarkable results, showcasing the power of Generative AI in transforming digital banking.
Customer satisfaction saw a significant boost, with the AI chatbot enhancing response times and achieving a 45% increase in customer satisfaction ratings. Operational efficiency also improved, as automation allowed the customer care team to operate 4.3 times more efficiently while reducing costs associated with manual query handling.
The AI chatbot demonstrated exceptional performance, routing 9 out of 10 customer queries through the in-app chat feature, achieving an AI accuracy rate of 95%. This success in automation not only streamlined processes but also enhanced the overall user experience.
This initiative is expected to save over USD 20 million in operational costs for Tonik Bank over the next three years, contributing to a significant increase in productivity while maintaining a headcount growth rate below 20%.
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Tonik Bank’s partnership with Gupshup highlights the power of conversational AI in banking. By automating tasks and improving customer interactions, Tonik enhanced its customer experience and achieved significant operational efficiency. This success sets a standard for innovative, customer-focused digital banking in a competitive financial landscape.
