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Pension funds are inundated with inquiries due to the Covid-19 disruption. Responding quickly to client demand, Deloitte Digital has managed to develop a ‘Covid-19 Superbot’ to help funds manage the huge increase in requests coming their way.
For most superannuation funds in Australia, the nature of inquiries received is quite predictable. But following the recently announced decision by the Australian government that individuals facing financial strain can access up to $20,000 from their superannuation funds, the number of applications has increased.
There has been a flurry of activity among financially strapped Australians, with most picking up the phone to call their superannuation provider, which is under considerable pressure.
Speaking to the AFR, Deloitte digital partner Joel Lipman said pension funds were understandably struggling. “I spoke to one of our clients, a larger industrial fund, and they echoed that [in late March] experienced the largest day in terms of member activity in the fund’s history. They just couldn’t do it at all. They were overwhelmed and unable to answer the multitude of questions. he said.
This motivated the team at Deloitte Digital – the digital arm of Deloitte Consulting, which is in turn the consulting division of professional services giant Deloitte. – to build a Covid-19 superbot in “a few days”. The AI-based platform is built on Google’s Dialogflow technology, which enables customer-to-bot conversations by inputting pre-defined topics.
Currently, the bot is equipped with the ability to respond to early access queries and can offer factual information in this domain. “If it can save some calls to the contact center, that’s fantastic,” Lipman said.
However, when things get more complicated, the bot will direct the customer to a human advisor, not because of a lack of ability, but because the regulations surrounding the use of AI in the dissemination of “personal financial advice” are strict.
Last month, Virgin Money tapped Deloitte Digital to help it design and launch its own digital bank.
Australia has the third best pension according to Mercer system in the world.
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