Abi Digital Assistant FAQs

Abi is a conversational AI assistant, a digital tool designed to help with everyday banking questions. They provide quick, accurate responses based on a set of predefined answers. 

When you ask Abi a question, they find the most relevant information from their database and provides you with a helpful answer. 

During Abi’s development, we’ve conducted focus groups and beta testing with customers to ensure Abi addresses their needs. Our customer’s feedback has been invaluable in shaping their functionality and user experience.

Abi gives immediate responses to common queries. If Abi can help, you won’t need to wait for an agent, providing a more seamless and convenient experience.

Initially, Abi will be available on two Card Services lines (Mon to Fri 9am-5pm excluding bank holidays) to provide support for common queries about your debit and credit cards. 

If Abi is given a question they can’t answer, they will automatically escalate the query to an agent, ensuring that complex issues are handled appropriately and without delay.

At the moment Abi can only help with general day to day queries. For more specific queries such as account transfers, balances etc that require authentication, Abi will escalate your call to an agent.

We use state-of-the-art encryption and security protocols to ensure all customer data is protected during interactions. Customer privacy and data security are among our top priorities. 

Abi has been designed with strict adherence to relevant regulations, ensuring that it meets all requirements for data privacy, security, and compliance.

Absolutely. You can ask to speak with an agent at any time during your interaction with Abi, and we ensure a smooth handover when this happens.

Abi is currently available in English, and we are continuously improving their ability to understand different dialects to ensure accessibility for more customers.

Yes, your privacy is important to us. Conversations with Abi are treated in the same manner as conversations with colleagues in our Customer Engagement Centre.  

This new service is being introduced on a phased basis. In time, Abi will be fully integrated across our mobile apps, online banking and the majority of our phone lines, allowing you to move seamlessly between channels while retaining context from previous interactions.

If Abi can’t help, just follow the prompts and you’ll be connected to an agent for further assistance.  

Abi will continuously evolve based on customer feedback and updates to our services. We have a dedicated team that monitors performance and implements updates regularly to improve their capability.  

You can always ask to speak to an agent. Also, Abi is a monitored system so any technical issues will be addressed by our support team.

Abi is part of our long-term strategy to offer more personalised, efficient, and convenient customer service. It allows us to scale our support while ensuring that our customers still receive the attention they deserve, particularly for more complex needs.