ABN AMRO wins international innovation award for AI coach for customer advisers
- Innovation
Jordi van Baardewijk
Sr Press Officer Risk Management, Compliance, HR, I&T and Detecting Financial Crime
ABN AMRO has won silver at the Qorus–Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards 2026. The bank received the international recognition in the AI-Led Value Creation category for an AI coach that enables customer advisers to practise realistic customer conversations. This allows them to gain experience before speaking to a real customer.
How do you prepare an adviser for a customer conversation that is impossible to predict? One customer may call with a straightforward practical question, while another may have a complex situation or strong emotions. Knowledge of products and processes is important, but it is not enough to be fully prepared for every conversation.
At the end of 2024, ABN AMRO partnered with Convergent AI to develop an AI coach featuring a digital avatar. It simulates different types of customers, questions and scenarios, and provides personalised feedback. Advisers can practise conversations in a safe environment, experiment and make mistakes without affecting real customers.
Practising safely with AI
The AI coach complements the onboarding programme for advisers in the contact centre. Alex Terpstra, Head of Complaints & Improvement Services: ‘For us, the power of AI is not just about working more efficiently. It is also about helping people become better at what they do. This application brings technology and learning together in a very practical way. Receiving international recognition for it is a great acknowledgement of the team’s work and, above all, confirmation that investing in the development of our colleagues ultimately creates value for our customers as well.’
Better customer service
The AI coach contributes to a higher first-time-right rate and a higher Net Promoter Score (NPS). Advisers also report feeling more confident when helping customers by phone and chat. At the same time, training costs are reduced, including the cost of using role-play actors.The application demonstrates how AI can support employees in developing their skills while also contributing to better and more efficient customer service.
International recognition for AI innovation
The award was presented at the Infosys Finacle Conclave 2026 in Rome. The competition was international: for the 13th edition of the Banking Innovation Awards, 538 projects were submitted by 206 financial institutions from 68 countries. The winners were selected based on votes from the banking community and the assessment of an international jury of 81 senior banking executives.