Let’s paint a quick picture: Maya, a busy marketing executive, is finally getting around to applying for a new credit card. She’s halfway through the application, inputting all the details, when suddenly—her phone buzzes with a meeting reminder. She closes the browser to take the call and completely forgets about the credit card application. Days pass, and the bank has now lost a potential customer.
This scenario is more common than you might think. Research from Forrester suggests that abandonment rates for digital applications in financial services can exceed 50%, leading to significant revenue losses for banks and financial institutions.
But what if there was a way to automatically remind these customers, gently nudging them to finish what they started? That’s where conversational AI comes in, offering the potential to transform how banks handle customer engagement, application follow-ups, and ultimately, prevent drop-offs.
Conversational AI: Turning Drop-offs into Opportunities
Conversational AI bots can act as virtual assistants that keep customers engaged by addressing application abandonment with personalized follow-ups. When a customer leaves their application unfinished, AI-driven systems can step in and take over, sending timely reminders and offering help through the customer’s preferred communication channel.
How AI Bots Work to Prevent Application Abandonment
If Maya had been interacting with a bank that used conversational AI, here’s how the system could have helped her:
-
- Voice Message: Hours later, she receives a voice message: ‘Hi Maya, we noticed you started your credit card application. You’re just one step away from completing it! Click here to finish your application.’
- Chat Notification: The next day, a chatbot could send her a message: ‘Hey, Maya, still interested in that credit card? We’ve saved your progress so you can pick up right where you left off!’
These bots offer personalized, timely follow-ups that are delivered through the most convenient channel for the customer—whether voice, chat, or email. Importantly, Maya doesn’t need to restart the application. The AI remembers where she left off and continues from there.
Why This Works: Key Benefits of Conversational AI in Banking
-
- Drop-off Retargeting: AI bots can easily identify incomplete applications, track where customers dropped off and initiate a follow-up. This ensures that every potential lead is re-engaged. According to McKinsey, banks using AI for customer engagement see up to a 40% increase in application completion rates.
-
- Multi-Channel Approach: Whether it’s a voice bot, chatbot, or email reminder, conversational AI ensures that communication happens through the channel customers prefer. This makes the experience smooth and less intrusive, increasing the chances of customer follow-through.
-
- Personalized Engagement: The bots can tailor messages to each customer using data like their name, progress in the application, and specific next steps. This personalization makes the customer feel understood and supported, which improves engagement and reduces churn.
-
- Cost-Effective & Efficient: Rather than relying on customer service teams to track and chase down incomplete applications manually, AI can automate the entire process. This saves time and resources, allowing human teams to focus on higher-priority tasks while increasing the rate of customer retention.
-
- Improved Customer Experience: Customers are more likely to complete their applications when they feel the bank is proactively helping them. By receiving timely, helpful nudges instead of generic reminders, they feel supported, which increases both conversion rates and customer satisfaction.
Automate365: Supercharging Banking with Intelligent Retargeting
With Automate365, banks can go a step beyond basic conversational AI and use a suite of intelligent automation tools designed to ensure a seamless customer journey, from initial engagement to application completion. Automate365 can handle complex workflows and execute retargeting strategies efficiently, making sure customers like Maya do not slip through the cracks.
Key Features of Automate365:
-
- Smart Workflow Automation: Automate365 automates the follow-up process from start to finish, engaging customers at the right moment and without manual intervention. This enables banks to reach customers like Maya with timely, relevant messaging.
-
- Cross-Channel Orchestration: Automate365 coordinates all interactions across multiple channels—whether via voice bots, chat reminders, or email nudges. This ensures that customers can resume their applications regardless of the channel, without losing progress.
-
- Contextual Retargeting: The AI in Automate365 remembers where the customer left off and retargets them with context-aware messages. If Maya pauses at the credit check stage, the AI will remind her to finish that specific part of the application.
-
- Behavioral Analytics: Automate365 leverages behavioral data to understand the best times and methods to reach out, optimizing retargeting strategies. This ensures that reminders are sent at optimal times, increasing the chances of application completion.
-
- Compliance & Security: Automate365 guarantees that all communication complies with industry standards and regulations like regulations and guidelines and PCI DSS, ensuring a secure and compliant experience for both banks and customers.
Real Impact: The Numbers Speak for Themselves
Studies show that over 70% of online banking applications are abandoned midway, leading to significant revenue losses for financial institutions (Statista). However, banks using conversational AI for retargeting have seen completion rates increase by up to 40%, according to a Deloitte report.
By leveraging conversational AI, banks can create a more efficient and satisfying customer experience, recovering lost opportunities while fostering stronger relationships and driving revenue growth.
Stop Losing Customers to Distractions
Customer drop-offs during banking applications don’t have to mean lost revenue. Conversational AI can help retain potential customers, recover abandoned applications, and keep the customer journey alive. With tools like Automate365, banks can ensure that every lead is followed up efficiently, ensuring higher completion rates and satisfied customers.
Don’t let customers like Maya slip away. Use conversational AI and automation to bring them back—and turn missed opportunities into successful conversions.