Get a robot to check your finances on Facebook chat
new york — TD Ameritrade has launched a chatbot, an automated programme that can communicate with the brokerage’s customers on Facebook’s messaging application, to give them information about markets and their accounts.
TD Ameritrade’s chatbot uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to respond to natural language messages from users on Facebook Messenger about their investments and stock prices, the brokerage said on Tuesday.
For example, customers could ask the chatbot for the price of Apple shares or information on the performance of their portfolio without leaving the messaging app. It also offers educational content such as videos on different investment topics.
Unlike other chatbots, TD Ameritrade’s bot will be backed by a human customer support team, which will receive notifications if the bot detects it is unable to handle some interactions. This will include cases in which the user is expressing frustration through colourful language or if they expressly request human help.
“If salty language is used, it will automatically escalate it to the human,” Sunayna Tuteja, director of emerging technologies and innovation at TD Ameritrade, said in an interview.
Chatbots and virtual assistants have become more popular in banking and other consumer-facing industries because improvements in artificial intelligence have made them more adept at interacting with humans.
Financial firms are hopeful that they can be used to replace their costly call centres populated by humans, while offering 24/7 support.
Tuteja said TD Ameritrade believes while bots are useful at providing customer service, a human element will always be required in financial services. — Reuters