We recently launched a voice Agentic Virtual Agent for a financial institution, focused on supporting a customer base with a strong presence of older adults.
The use case started with a very common behavior among these customers. Many call frequently, sometimes several times throughout the same day, to check their account balance, confirm the amount of a benefit payment, or verify whether the credit has already been deposited.
Although these requests may seem simple, they represent a significant volume of repetitive calls. At the same time, this audience requires an experience that is clear, patient, accessible, and flexible.
Another important characteristic is that customers do not always express their needs through a direct or structured request. They may begin by explaining what happened, sharing personal context, or telling a longer story before finally asking about their balance or benefit.
This conversational behavior was one of the reasons an AVA was a strong fit for the project. Instead of forcing customers to navigate a rigid menu or use a specific command, the AVA can follow the conversation, interpret the context, and identify the actual need, even when the request only becomes clear after a longer explanation.
Combining transactional self-service and knowledge
The AVA was designed to provide:
- Account balance information
- Benefit payment information
- Both pieces of information during the same interaction
- Answers to common questions about the bank's mobile app
- Guidance on downloading and accessing the app
- Instructions for completing transactions
- Support for other common digital banking questions through a knowledge base
The knowledge component is especially important because many customers call not only to retrieve financial information, but also because they need assistance using digital channels. By combining transactional self-service with knowledge-based support, the AVA can resolve the immediate request while also helping customers become more comfortable with the bank's digital services.
Initial results
From July 22 to August 5, the AVA handled 325 calls, with the following results:
- 82% retention: 268 calls were completed without reaching a human agent
- 78% self-service usage: 254 customers received their balance, benefit information, or both
- 70% complete resolution: 226 calls were fully resolved after the requested information was delivered
- 62% of calls included a balance inquiry, representing 200 interactions
- 45% included a benefit inquiry, representing 146 interactions
- Only 17.5% of calls were transferred to a human agent
- PSAT of 4.0 out of 5, with 75% of respondents rating the experience with a 4 or 5
A single call may include both a balance and a benefit inquiry, which is why those percentages overlap.
The PSAT result is currently based on 32 responses, with 24 customers providing a rating of 4 or 5. We are therefore treating it as a positive initial signal rather than a consolidated indicator and will continue monitoring it as adoption grows.
A controlled rollout before expansion
The current volume is intentionally limited because the AVA is initially available only to customers from selected area codes.
We chose a phased rollout so that we could monitor the conversations closely, understand how this audience interacts with the AVA, identify opportunities for improvement, and validate the overall experience before expanding it to a broader customer base.
Beyond the numbers, we also received very positive feedback from the customer team. They highlighted the quality of the delivery, the collaboration between the teams, and our availability to support them whenever needed.
For me, this project reinforces an important point: designing automation for an older audience requires much more than technical accuracy. Language, pacing, clarity, patience, repetition, error recovery, and the ability to understand less structured conversations can determine whether customers feel confident enough to continue the interaction.
These first results show that voice automation can reduce repetitive demand, provide immediate access to important information, and support digital inclusion while allowing customers to communicate naturally and in their own way.
#ConversationalAI(Bots,VirtualAgent,etc.)------------------------------
Mateus Nunes
CX Manager at Solve4me Solucoes em Tecnologia Ltda
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