DBS has launched an upgraded version of its corporate banking virtual assistant, DBS Joy, now powered by generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI).

Developed in-house as Asia’s first corporate banking virtual assistant, the chatbot offers 24/7 support through the bank’s digital platform, DBS IDEAL.

DBS Joy handles a wide range of queries, from routine requests to complex servicing needs.

For specialised support, users are connected to customer service staff equipped with a Gen AI-powered digital co-pilot to deliver faster and more tailored assistance.

Since trials began in February, DBS Joy has handled over 120,000 chats.

About 4,000 corporate clients, mostly small and medium enterprises, now use the service monthly, with customer satisfaction up by more than 23%.

Chen Ze Ling, Group Head of Corporate and SME Banking, DBS, said,

“At DBS, our dedication to empowering SMEs fuels our continuous innovation in how we deliver positive customer experiences.

In line with our commitment to be an AI-enabled bank with a heart, our latest iteration of DBS Joy represents a major leap forward as it offers instant and intelligent support to customers, while enabling our SME relationship managers to deliver more focused and value-added engagements to clients.”

DBS Joy combines large language models with the bank’s knowledge base to provide conversational, contextual responses.

Interactions go through multiple safeguards and reviews by trained evaluators who refine the chatbot’s accuracy and reliability.

Welson Jamin, Group Head of Operations at DBS, said,

“DBS Joy enables customers to access information quickly, efficiently, and accurately. For customers who choose to speak with a human service specialist, we are also implementing Gen AI to support employees by enabling faster data retrieval, providing concise recommendations and improving response times to customer queries.

This reduces employees’ effort and allows them to focus on work that involves human judgement to address client needs.”

DBS plans to expand Joy’s features and roll it out to other markets, including Hong Kong and India.

The bank’s broader AI strategy has gained global recognition, with Global Finance naming DBS the World’s Best AI Bank and Harvard Business School profiling its AI initiatives in a 2024 case study.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by MH Stock via Freepik