Erste Bank launches Austria's first financial AI

Digital Reinvention
01/12/2023News

Erste Bank has introduced Austria's inaugural financial Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution, unveiling the "Financial Health Prototype." Using ChatGPT technology from OpenAI, the text-based chatbot offers accessible, engaging information on financial topics at www.erstebank.ai.

The AI-driven chatbot aims to simplify complex financial concepts by providing easily understood answers to questions related to financial health and money matters. The initiative is in line with Erste Bank's mission to make the financial world less complex for its customers, leveraging over 200 years of financial knowledge.

Gerda Holzinger-Burgstaller, CEO of Erste Bank, emphasized the bank's commitment to leveraging AI to enhance financial literacy. She highlighted the role of artificial intelligence in supporting Erste Bank's founding purpose, stating, "We can pursue our founding purpose better with the help of artificial intelligence. Wealth creation and development require good financial knowledge, and with our Financial Health Prototype, we are experimenting with another building block in our efforts to make the financial world less complex for our customers."

The Financial Health Prototype features a straightforward and interactive approach, allowing users to ask questions about various financial topics. The chatbot responds with well-structured and easy-to-understand answers, offering tips on savings skills, digital banking explanations, and even creative tasks like explaining bonds in the form of a poem.

Erste Bank's AI experiment is not limited to providing information. It actively encourages user feedback, acknowledging the potential for incorrect responses and "hallucinations." Users are invited to report inaccuracies, contributing to the continuous optimization of the Financial Health Prototype.

Importantly, the AI is not connected to users' banking systems, ensuring data privacy. Erste Bank affirms that conversations with the Financial Health Prototype will not be evaluated, and no customer data is processed within the AI system.

Erste Bank's commitment to AI-driven innovation aligns with a representative study commissioned by the bank, exploring how Austrians perceive artificial intelligence, particularly ChatGPT. The study reveals that many Austrians are familiar with AI, with 52% having knowledge of ChatGPT, presenting an opportunity for financial service providers to leverage AI technologies.

The Financial Health Prototype stands as a unique AI application "trained in Austria," combining Erste Bank's extensive financial knowledge with the conversational capabilities of ChatGPT. While the AI chatbot doesn't replace personal counseling, it serves as a valuable first point of contact for obtaining financial information conveniently and at any time. The prototype is part of Erste Bank's broader initiative to explore the potential of AI, with ChatGPT already available to all employees for playful learning purposes.

Erste Bank's innovative Financial Health Prototype showcases the intersection of advanced AI technology and financial expertise, marking a significant step toward enhancing financial literacy in Austria.

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