BBVA’s contact centre teams in Italy and Germany have successfully deployed two proprietary generative AI assistants that cut average handling times for routine customer enquiries by over 15 percent. The AI agents, developed internally by staff at the Spanish bank’s fully digital operations in both countries, handle common questions about products, services, and general procedures. The implementation represents a bottom-up innovation approach, with frontline teams rather than central tech divisions driving the deployment.
The efficiency gains come as European banks face mounting pressure to reduce operational costs while maintaining customer service standards amid rising digital competition. BBVA’s digital-only units in Italy and Germany served as testing grounds for the technology, which could potentially roll out across the group’s broader network. The success demonstrates how staff-led AI initiatives can deliver measurable productivity improvements without extensive external development costs.
FXnCO Insight
Banks embracing employee-driven AI deployment may gain competitive advantages in cost reduction faster than those relying solely on top-down digital transformation strategies.
Source: Finextra