Figure 12. Chatbots are increasingly effective in customer interaction. Picture C/O The Straits Times

One relatively straightforward place for companies to start their AI journey is with Chatbots.

Singapore’s OCBC Bank's chatbot application closed more than S$70 million in its first 11 months of operation. Named "Emma", the home loan chatbot is powered by machine learning, and uses Natural Language Processing Uses NLP and personality analysis. Emma turns 10% of chats turn into loans and customer say “this interface understands me”.

It took three months for "Emma" to be fully trained to address all possible questions asked by consumers about home loans, with one of the top three questions being how much a consumer can borrow. The chatbot uses its built-in total debt servicing ratio calculator to address the query.

"Emma" is trained to identify and associate with all terminology used in the process of applying for a home loan. As new or revised regulations come up, "Emma" can be updated to respond to new questions.