RBS unveils messenger service using AI assistant

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has launched a mobile app messaging service that it says will help customers get answers to their basic banking queries within seconds.

However, it comes as the bailed-out lender has faced ire for closures across its branch network.

The 24/7 messaging service uses an AI virtual assistant called Cora, and the Gogarburn-based bank said it is the first time in Scotland such a feature in a mobile banking app has been launched with customers.

It will be able to answer 200 banking queries without the need for customers to queue for an answer, and “helps free up time for staff to deal with complicated problems that require much more critical thinking”, the lender said.

RBS added that where Cora can’t provide the information, the message will be sent to a human advisor, while over time Cora will be trained to handle more complicated questions.

Its current closure programme includes at least 52 branches in Scotland.