Fargo will be built on Dialogflow, Google Cloud’s conversational AI platform.

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) announced its launch of Fargo, a new virtual assistant that will assist customers with their banking in the coming months and provide a more personalised, convenient and simple banking experience. Fargo will be built upon the Google Cloud conversational AI platform known as Dialogflow which has language processing capabilities, can understand customers’ intents, and deliver an appropriate response. (Businesswire)

A study conducted by Wells Fargo showed a pivotal change in digital banking with large sections of younger customers preferring to use a digital assistant rather than spend the time on waiting for a customer service representative on the phone.

Initially, Fargo will perform relatively simpler tasks on behalf of customers and at their request including turning on/off debit cards, checking credit limits, and providing transaction details. According to the bank, its collaboration with Google enables access to world-class AI capabilities while keeping its own customer data secure and private.

If it is unable to solve a customer’s query, Fargo reroutes the conversation to a manual customer support representative.

A more advanced version of the assistant, due next year, could perform additional actions such as highlighting unusual items such as an increase in a subscription amount; provide budgeting advice; and money tips such as for consolidating debt or parking extra cash into investments.

“This partnership will expand our customers’ digital financial support network by enabling meaningful money conversations conveniently from their mobile device,” said Michelle Moore, head of Digital for Consumer and Wealth & Investment Management at Wells Fargo. “It’s more than just dollars and cents; it’s about uplifting our customers’ emotional and financial well-being by understanding their financial goals and providing the most convenient interactions to meet those goals.”

“By pairing our leading AI and natural language processing capabilities with Wells Fargo’s industry-leading banking experience, we can provide customers with connected, personalized tools that seamlessly blend with their financial needs,” said Yolande Piazza, vice president of Financial Services at Google Cloud.

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