Agent IQ and WBR Insights Release Annual Future Branches Emerging Technology Report

Slaven Bilac

​Agent IQ, a provider of digital customer engagement solutions specializing in making financial services more personal again, and WBR Insights, the custom research division of Worldwide Business Research (WBR), the world leader in industry-driven thought-leadership conferences, today released their most recent report, “The Annual Future Branches Emerging Technologies Report: How the Latest Technologies are Transforming Banks and Their Branches.”

This report explores how the latest innovations are transforming bank branches and what that means for both the employees and customers of banks, credit unions, and other financial service organizations. With a special focus on virtual banking and consultations, the report identifies how branches are likely to adapt their strategies over the coming months and years. The WBR Insights research team surveyed 200 leaders from banks and credit unions across the U.S. and Canada to generate the results featured in this report.
​
Some initial insights from the survey results include:

• 64% of respondents rate the technology currently used in their institutions as only somewhat sophisticated—they are at parity with their competitors.
  
  
• 96% of respondents say better customer experiences and stronger relationships with customers are the most important outcomes of new technologies, followed by improved staff efficiency (84%).
  
  
• Nearly all respondents (96%) claim they will consider leveraging AI-powered chatbots in the next 12 months.

 

• Over one-third of respondents will consider leveraging personal digital engagement platforms to connect remote customers with agents or bankers (40%) and predictive analytics (34%), in the next 12 months.

 

• 85% of respondents believe personal digital engagement platforms differentiate or would differentiate their institutions somewhat from others.

 
“Technology has rapidly transformed the banking industry into a more digital and data-driven environment and has changed how financial institutions interact with their customers or members,” said Slaven Bilac, CEO & Co-Founder, Agent IQ. “The findings of this research confirm that the customer experience and establishing strong customer relationships continue to be a top priority for FIs, which further supports our mission of helping FIs foster customer relationships and meet the digital demands of today’s customers and FIs with our AI-driven technology and personalized customer engagements. This also strengthens the need for our digital engagement platform that allows customers or members to engage with their desired personal banker for all their financial needs, across any digital channel, leading to happier, more loyal and profitable relationships.”

---