Creating an AI-based personal assistant: Case study of Is¸bank ‘Maxi’

Abstract

This paper looks at Is¸bank’s Personal Assistant ‘Maxi’ as a case study to demonstrate the important touchpoints in building a personal assistant and provides details of its construction. Is¸bank was established in 1926 and is the biggest private bank in Turkey. Its personal assistant Maxi was added to its mobile application in 2018. Since its launch, Maxi has recorded an impressive number of queries, overwhelmingly positive feedbacks and a very high percentage of accuracy, all of which demonstrate that the steps Is¸bank has taken have been effective. Contrary to the customary application of artificial intelligence (AI) in customer services in the finance sector as chatbots, Maxi was designed to be a personal assistant. Therefore, while acknowledging the existence and the advantages of chatbots in the banking sector, this paper dwells on the formation of a ‘personal assistant’, which, unlike chatbots, recognises its unique user, carries out certain tasks given to it and provides insights to assist the user with regard to financial decisions. A brief overview of AI will first be provided, followed by a detailed explanation of the seven steps involved in creating an AI-based personal assistant in banking.