Independent Banker - January 2025 - 26

PORTFOLIO
◎FOCUS TECHNOLOGY
Chatbots: Finding
a balance between
human and machine
Community banks' reputations are built on personal connection. But
with an effective chatbot, banks can free up staff to focus on customers'
more complex needs. It just takes effective training. By Elizabeth Judd
anks across the nation have
heard about the prospective
benefits of chatbots, which can engage
with customers via text, a spoken
conversation or sometimes both. In
2023, chatbot developer Agent IQ
commissioned a study of 200 financial
institutions in the U.S. and Canada. Of
those surveyed, 96% said they would
consider adopting AI-powered chatbots
within the next 12 months.
One community bank that's already
there is $1.8 billion-asset CNB Bank &
Trust, N.A. in Carlinville, Ill. Since it
unveiled a chatbot feature for customers
two years ago, the bank's tellers are
personally answering significantly fewer
customer questions, potentially leading
to an 80% reduction as more customers
utilize the AI chatbot.
Cody Zellers, the community bank's
project coordinator, says routine
inquiries fielded by CNB's chatbot,
Cashanova, range from " How do I
order new checks? " to " Where do I go
to sign up for a debit card? " Cashanova,
Zellers says, is equipped to answer more
than 600 basic banking questions, all
of which have clear answers and don't
require a lengthy conversation.
AI's inhuman capabilities
Jake Tyler, AI market lead at Glia,
a customer interaction technology
provider, says AI-driven chatbots
don't just free up overburdened staff; a
chatbot can also answer basic questions
outside of traditional banking hours.
Across a large customer base, Tyler has
seen AI chatbots contain roughly 65%
of call and chat interactions, with strong
levels of customer satisfaction and some
appreciable cost savings.
Beyond giving employees more
time to tackle complicated requests,
chatbots possess other advantages
that human beings can't match. " The
good news is that chatbots are very
consistent, " says Tyler. " They don't go
to the bathroom, and they don't sleep-
B
26 // ICBA Independent Banker // January 2025
Photo by Studio Romantic/Adobe

Independent Banker - January 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - January 2025

Contents
Independent Banker - January 2025 - Cover1
Independent Banker - January 2025 - Cover2
Independent Banker - January 2025 - Contents
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 2
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 3
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 4
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 5
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 6
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 7
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 8
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 9
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 10
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 11
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 12
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 13
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 14
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 15
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 16
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 17
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 18
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 19
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 20
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 21
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 22
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 23
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 24
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 25
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 26
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 27
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 28
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 29
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 30
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 31
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 32
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 33
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 34
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 35
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 36
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 37
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 38
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 39
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 40
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 41
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 42
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 43
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 44
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 45
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 46
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 47
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 48
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 49
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 50
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 51
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 52
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 53
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 54
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 55
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 56
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 57
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 58
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 59
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 60
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 61
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 62
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 63
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 64
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 65
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 66
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 67
Independent Banker - January 2025 - 68
Independent Banker - January 2025 - Cover3
Independent Banker - January 2025 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2017
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com