Chatbots are a service that offer a conversational experience by utilising artificial intelligence technology and natural language processing. The popularity of chatbots in the Indonesian banking industry increased in 2020, from five banks implementing a chatbot last year to eight conventional banks and one Islamic bank now. The chatbots are known by catchy names: Aisyah from BSM, Cinta from BNI, Digibot from Digibank, Mila from Bank Mega, Mita from Bank Mandiri, Sabrina from BRI, Tammi from BJB, Viola from Bank Bukopin, and Vira from BCA.

Chatbot technology has attracted a lot of banking attention. High turnover rates and training needs, as well as pressure to reduce operational costs are some of the factors that have driven banks to move away from traditional contact centre services. Chatbots can also answer the needs of today's customers who demand fast-paced response and service, as well as self-service options that can be accessed independently.

At the 2020 Bank Service Excellence Monitor (BSEM) awards, MRI evaluated the chatbot service as one of the touchpoints where customers can interact with their bank. A superior chatbot is user-friendly and has the ability to understand customer conversations, as well as the capability to provide the right solution and information to customer's requests and problems. Our measurement also looks at how a chatbot can interact like a human in detecting and showing emotion or empathy.

The best chatbot category in the BSEM 2020 evaluation was won by Mita (Mandiri Intelligent Assistant) from Bank Mandiri (81.58%), followed by Vira (Virtual Assistant Chat Banking) from BCA (81.25%), and Aisyah (Mandiri Syariah Interactive Assistant) from Bank Syariah Mandiri (80.89%). These three chatbots can be accessed through at least two different messaging platforms, such as LINE, Facebook Messenger, or Telegram, while Mita and Aisyah are also present on their respective banking website. These virtual assistants can help customers find information and promotions about bank services and products, or even information related to a customers bank account.

Not only providing a different experience for customers, chatbots are a digital banking innovation that are considered more efficient. However, this service still has a lot of room for improvement. Indonesian banking chatbots still have a lot to "learn" to understand messages conveyed by their customers appropriately and interact like real humans. In the future, chatbots are expected to act like a virtual agent, where they can help customers do financial transactions or other complex activities.

We have conducted various analyses to provide insight for banks in improving their services. To find out more, you can contact us via e-mail to mri@mri-research-ind.com.