NatWest bank has closed/is closing hundreds of branches in the UK.
This is bad news for customers (especially seniors) who like to do their banking in person.
NatWest has a solution. It’s dreadful.
According to The Telegraph:
NatWest is to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that it claims will provide more human interaction to customers after closing hundreds of bank branches in recent years.
The bot, built using technology from IBM, will employ so-called “generative” AI technology, similar to that of ChatGPT, which can hold human-like conversations with customers looking for information about the bank.
The revamped chatbot will be known as Cora+, building on a current digital assistant that NatWest offers on its websites.
The company’s Cora+ bot will be able to explain details about products and services to customers in a conversational style, offering up links to useful information or services.
The expansion of its chatbot tool comes amid fears that AI bots will replace millions of office jobs. NatWest said it would still always be possible to speak to a customer services representative on the phone.
NatWest Group, which includes Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, has shut down 1,314 branches since 2015, according to consumer group Which?. In September it confirmed it would close 143 locations across 2023 and 2024.
𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲! 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞… 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧… 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 $𝟑𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤… http://www.get.salary49.com
Personally I prefer my human interaction to be with humans but perhaps that’s just me.
Agreed, I’ve just finished my podcast and thought i would join you on here. As theirs very few of us left now on the main forum. Which is a shame, as its dropped off gradually from the hundreds of comments when the forum opened beginning 2021. I dont know why it is, as i think the viewing figures for the show are continuing to increase. I just hope that Richie continues to put things on here, as i still find it very useful. Speak soon, take care, Fox
The APP is no doubt taking the majority of chat comments to BBG now. So its kinda split the audience discussion until perhaps Hayden might add a feature for the forum users to see the live comments from the app, even if we cannot interact back to them. Perhaps a chatbox type side bar could be added.
I refer to the main forum Pan, not live chat. The main forum had dropped to practically nothing but a handful long before the new App. The new App has only effected the live show comment thread. Which i dont mind so much. As it makes it easier for comments to be seen. Often there used to be between 40 and 100 comments per article published. And i would sometimes get around 40 ticks, which is unheard of now. People have just stopped writing under the articles.
I don’t know why Richie is so enthusiastic about the app. I think interaction between people on the site is important as well as messages direct to Richie. I’ve sometimes learnt some interesting or valuable information and also about good books, articles, websites and videos. I neither need nor want a smartphone (which I think are actually harmful) so I couldn’t use the app anyway. It sounds as if the podcast went off without a hitch so I’ll definitely be catching up with it soon.
The app has not effected the main forum though J, as i mentioned above. It was down to practically nothing long before the App. The app has only effected live comment page. Which i dont mind as makes it easier to get comments noticed. But yes, i have never had an app. Got a smart phone because i got it very cheap. But i dont use apps, and may replace with a regular phone soon. As had many Tec issues with it. They tend to go wrong more often than basic phones.
Started to crash at the very end. But i feel satisfied i did my best. Its just a shame that not more views. I’m thinking that its possibly not the right audience, but i cant do anything about that.