Introducing Jamie – ANZ’s new digital assistant

Meet Jamie, ANZ’s new digital assistant, who started work helping customers with some of their general banking queries.

Jamie has a human face, voice and expressions. She has been programmed to answer questions on 30 of the most frequently searched-for topics on the ANZ Help section of anz.co.nz.

ANZ will be trialling Jamie at https://help.anz.co.nz. All of the questions she can answer are general in nature and do not require any specific customer information.

“Through the trial, we want to see if Jamie will appeal to those who might not be as comfortable using our other digital channels,” Liz Maguire Head of Digital & Transformation at ANZ Bank said.

“While we know many of our customers love connecting through our existing digital channels, we have been talking face to face a lot longer than we’ve been using small screens.”

ANZ partnered with New Zealand tech company, Soul Machines, to develop Jamie. Soul Machines has made a name globally humanizing artificial intelligence.

“One of the things that is really exciting about this project is that we are starting to understand some of the benefits we can deliver for ANZ’s customers. The fact they can talk to somebody immediately,” Greg Cross Chief Business Officer at Soul Machines said. “It’s a personal interaction - it is a face-to-face interaction.”

Jamie has a digital human face and persona, and is ‘brought to life’ using Soul Machines’ world-leading Human Computing Engine (HCE) – a virtual nervous system that is modelled on the way the human brain and nervous system work. The HCE allows her to express personality and character in a human-like way.

Initial feedback from staff and customers has been positive. Around 90 per cent of customers who have spoken to Jamie think it is a good idea for ANZ to introduce the technology.

“How we move forward will be guided by what our customers and staff tell us they want,” Ms Maguire said. “We’re excited to show Jamie to more of our customers and get their feedback.”

Jamie - News from ANZ MEDIA on Vimeo.