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HOT OFF THE PRESS: Introducing Jamie – ANZ’s new digital assistant

 
 

July 9th, 2018

Media Release | Tuesday 10th July 2018

Introducing Jamie  Introducing Jamie

Meet Jamie, ANZ’s new digital assistant, who starts work tomorrow helping customers with some of their general banking queries.

Jamie has a human face, voice and expressions and can have a two-way verbal conversation with people via a computer screen, tablet or mobile phone – thanks to advances in neuroscience, psychology, computing power and artificial intelligence.

She has been programmed to answer questions on 30 of the most frequently searched-for topics on the ANZ Help section of anz.co.nz.

ANZ will be trialling Jamie at https://help.anz.co.nz where she will answer questions such as: “What do I do if I’ve lost my card?” and “How long does it take for a payment to process?”

All of the questions she can answer are general in nature and do not require any specific customer information.

“Through the trial, we want to see if Jamie will appeal to those who might not be as comfortable using our other digital channels,” Liz Maguire, Head of Digital & Transformation at ANZ Bank said.

“While we know many of our customers love connecting through our existing digital channels, we have been talking face to face a lot longer than we’ve been using small screens.”

ANZ partnered with New Zealand tech company, Soul Machines™, to develop Jamie. Soul Machines™, co-founder and CEO, Mark Sagar, has won awards for his ground-breaking facial technology in King Kong and Avatar.

Jamie has a digital human face and persona, and is ‘brought to life’ using Soul Machines™’ world-leading Human Computing Engine™ (HCE). The Soul Machines™ HCE is a Virtual Nervous System™ that combines neural networks and biologically inspired models of the human brain which allow her to express personality and character in an incredibly human-like way.

Initial feedback from staff and customers has been positive. Around 90 percent of customers who have spoken to Jamie think it is a good idea for ANZ to introduce the technology.

“One of the things that is really exciting about this project is that we are starting to understand some of the benefits we can deliver for ANZ’s customers. The fact they can talk to somebody immediately,” Greg Cross, Chief Business Officer at Soul Machines™ said. “It’s a personal interaction – it is a face-to-face interaction.”

“How we move forward will be guided by what our customers and staff tell us they want,” Ms. Maguire said. “We’re excited to show Jamie to more of our customers and get their feedback.”

Soul Machines™ is making a name for itself globally for humanizing artificial intelligence. The company has just been named as one of the 61 most innovative start-ups in the world by the World Economic Forum developing “world changing” technology.

About Jamie

  • Jamie is ANZ’s digital banking assistant developed by New Zealand tech company, Soul Machines™.
  • Customers can start talking with Jamie at https://help.anz.co.nz.
  • She has been optimized for desktop, tablet and mobile.
  • All of the questions Jamie can answer are general in nature and do not require any specific customer information.
  • Jamie’s favourite colour is ANZ blue, and her favourite TV show is NZ’s Country Calendar.