HSBC Australia signs Flamingo Ai to build virtual assistant

HSBC Bank Australia is poised to deploy a virtual assistant for frequently asked questions and 'knowledge retrieval' after partnering with machine learning play Flamingo Ai.

The Sydney-based company signed an initial three-year agreement with the bank this week to build out a proof of concept of Flamingo Ai’s solutions.

The PoC was trialled late last year, but under the new agreement will now be deployed into a production environment.

The contract, which can be extended for a further two years, includes a monthly subscription arrangement to cover software licencing fees.

The move to introduce a virtual assistant is the latest in HSBC Australia’s push to redefine how its customers interact with the bank through tech, which has so far included both in-branch and online enhancements.

Early last year the bank revealed it had partnered with ASX-listed Skyfii to deploy foot-traffic monitoring solutions across its 35 branches, with data collected through free guest wi-fi services used to try and “personalise and improve the overall experience”.

It also adopted Pegasystem’s real-time decisioning software to ease customers onto its new online banking platform in a bid to avoid the backlash experienced by other banks who had updated their websites.

The planned virtual assistant for FAQ & Knowledge Retrieval, known as MAGGIE, will join the growing number of Flamingo Ai assistants in Australia’s finance sector.

Credit Union Australia (CUA) last year deployed ‘Sam’ in its health insurance sales department, resulting in significant growth in sales.

Rather than use the virtual assistant to reduce the number of staff in the department, CUA deployed Sam to operate in areas that were previously unsupervised by staff, so that it was there to answer simpler questions that potential customers might have while perusing the website.

CUA’s deployment of Sam earned it a spot as a finalist in the 2019 iTnews Benchmark Awards.