“ChatGPT lowers the bar for people using AI,” Charles Morris, Chief Data Scientist for Financial Services at Microsoft, recently said during a Banking Transformed podcast. It's true; this AI chatbot is democratizing artificial intelligence…even if it lacks the “right direction and guardrails” for use as an automated teller in retail banking.

ChatGPT launched on November 30, 2022 and crossed one million users five days after launch. It then set the record for fastest-growing platform by gaining 100 million monthly, active users by January. By March 2023, it hit 1.6 billion visits.

This wildly popular platform is transforming the way we learn, work and create, but is there a place for ChatGPT in banks? American Banker Editor Penny Crosman investigated and concluded, “When you peel away the hype, ChatGPT is not ready to be used in finance today.” The good news? Its explosive popularity is still great for the financial services industry, because the technology platform is acclimating bank customers and credit union members to interacting with AI virtual assistants.

AI-powered interactive virtual assistants (IVAs) built specifically for retail banking are beginning to transform customer experience. Bank of America’s virtual banking assistant Erica passed the major milestone of more than 1 billion interactions in October 2022. And it’s not just big with Millennials. Three years after launching, Bank of America reported that half (51%) of Erica users were Generation Z, Generation X and Baby Boomers.

Thankfully, smaller banks and credit unions don’t have to sit on the sidelines. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions with data stored securely in the cloud is bringing AI technology within reach for all.

Financial institutions of every asset size can transform their customer service through an AI-powered chatbot, available 24/7, to help customers and members with managing their accounts, paying bills and carrying out transactions. Due to advances in the natural language processing (NLP) capabilities of AI technology, these virtual tellers can respond to customer requests quickly and efficiently. In this case, the purpose of IVAs is not to replace humans; it’s to free up humans to focus on more complex tasks.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly remaking our digitally-driven world. Banking can be part of that reinvention, but with personally identifiable financial information involved, strong security measures are critical. In the latest The Economist Intelligence Unit Survey, bankers identified privacy and security concerns as the most prominent barrier to adopting and incorporating AI technologies in their organization. Thankfully, AI that’s up to par for use in the financial services industry is here.

Unlike ChatGPT, AI solutions designed for customer service in financial services comply with banking regulations and security requirements. IVAs that meet the banking industry’s high standards go far beyond conversational AI with data translation, API integration and contact center integration. They’re also applicable for interactions involving account balance, funds transfer, and transaction search and analysis. Additionally, they understand retail banking context and are readily customizable for each bank or credit union. With the right AI solution, a financial institution does not need an IT squad to build-from-scratch, fine-tune or adapt a generalized platform. The AI FinTech provider delivers reporting, analytics and support, to boot.

While ChatGPT’s usability in banking is limited, it’s opening many millions of eyes to the possibilities of artificial intelligence, which go far beyond funny poems, rap songs and fact-heavy chit-chat. It’s filtering web clutter to find answers, knocking out time-intensive tasks in seconds and creating works of art. And it’s made the appetite for AI apparent.

Now a tested technology, artificial intelligence should garner the trust of bank and credit union leaders. With customer experience specifically, a smooth transition from people-intensive service to bot-backed personalization and efficiency is achievable for financial institutions, big and small. The key? Identifying the right AI solution.