I took over this project after initial SME interviews, which, unfortunately, provided little data on customer behavior, so I engaged the bank’s CX team. Their research showed a substantial shift in customer channel preferences from calls to digital channels — specifically SMS, not email.

While researching the bank’s SMS initiatives, I was made aware of a Rich Communication Service (RCS) proof of concept the innovation lab was working on. I received a demo where I heard that Soul Machines was running a virtual human POC for the lab.

With this information, I studied RCS analogs and how mobile apps like WeChat were moving into the financial transactions space. On the subject of virtual humans, I investigated the uncanny valley phenomenon and how endearment balanced anthropomorphism.

From the outset, the business focused solely on the competition and pushed a text-based VA solution. I created a market landscape that included Bank of America’s Erica and Capital One’s Eno to satisfy their interests, but I also directed them to a better opportunity.

Whether a simple, text-based autoresponder or a physical robot, VAs were no more than chatbots with an interface predicated on the environment. The opportunity was to give meaning to the interaction and extend the customer relationship.

I researched how individuals form personal relationships with technology, such as virtual girlfriends like Xiaoice. I looked into how the bank used data to generate behavioral probability models to drive predictive banking.

In my POV, I laid out the factors that cause people to suspend disbelief, accept a cold interface as an empathetic friend, and even develop an emotional attachment. I recounted the effects of notification addiction and how burnout drove people to reject technology. I also referenced the discomfort people feel interacting with systems that eerily know them.

Next, I led a workshop of 30+ stakeholders and strategists, colocated on both coasts, and assisted by four table leads. The challenge: Invent ways to extend the bank’s relationship using non-humans in Year 2030.

The participants conjured ideas about the guises AI might take and then demonstrated how these might work by creating journey maps based on the plausible scenarios I provided. Post-workshop, I worked with the project stakeholders to prioritize the solutions based on feasibility and business interests.

Using the prioritized concepts, I developed a visual narrative that told the story of an AI-based avatar who helped a family upscale their home to accommodate their immigrating grandmother.