Bank of America Adds Generative AI to EricaAssist, Cutting Customer Service Call Times by Nearly a Minute
Bank of America has enhanced EricaAssist, the AI agent used by more than 18,000 customer service representatives, with generative AI that delivers guidance in under three seconds.
Overview
Bank of America has added generative AI capabilities to EricaAssist, the AI agent that supports the more than 18,000 employees who staff its customer service lines, according to a press release from Bank of America. The bank says the update delivers relevant guidance to employees in under three seconds and has cut average call times by nearly one minute per interaction.
What We Know
EricaAssist is a human-assisted AI agent that runs alongside customer service representatives during client calls rather than interacting with customers directly, according to Bank of America. The tool runs as a desktop widget on employees’ computers and surfaces information such as the reason for a client’s call and the client’s tenure with the bank, according to Banking Dive.
With the new generative AI capabilities, EricaAssist now summarizes why a client is calling, pulls together relevant information, and recommends next steps based on the employee’s role and the client’s relationship with the bank, all without interrupting the flow of the conversation, according to Bank of America. More than 18,000 customer service representatives use the tool, and the enhanced version delivers its guidance in three seconds or less, according to Bank of America and PYMNTS.
Ashley Ross, Bank of America’s Head of Consumer Client Experience and Business Transformation, said EricaAssist “reflects our high tech, high touch approach,” adding that “by combining human judgment with real time AI guidance, we’re helping employees navigate complex topics more easily and serve clients more effectively in the moments that matter most,” according to Bank of America. In a separate comment to Banking Dive, Ross said, “It’s really about helping our employees better serve the clients and do it more efficiently and effectively. Anything that makes the engagement smoother for our clients and our associates is a win.”
Tom Ellis, Bank of America’s Chief Information Officer and Head of Consumer Technology, said the technology “helps our teammates deliver relevant insights in seconds, while operating with strong governance, transparency, and accountability,” according to Bank of America. Ellis also told Banking Dive that the system can “assist them specifically in that moment with what the best next recommendation could be,” and described the underlying process as having “more capabilities to understand what’s going on in the conversation…and then to take that conversation, summarize what’s going on, and then make recommendations back.”
Bank of America says the enhanced EricaAssist reduces average call times by nearly one minute per interaction, according to Bank of America and Banking Dive. The bank plans to expand EricaAssist later in 2026 to additional servicing scenarios and business lines, according to Bank of America.
EricaAssist is distinct from Erica, Bank of America’s customer-facing virtual financial assistant, which averages more than 58 million client interactions per month and has surpassed 3 billion interactions since its 2018 launch, according to PYMNTS.
The rollout comes as Bank of America directs a growing share of its technology budget toward AI. The bank spends $14 billion annually on technology, with $4 billion of that budget allocated to new initiatives including AI, according to Bank of America and Banking Dive. The bank, which holds $3.5 trillion in assets, serves 70 million clients in the United States through 3,500 retail financial centers and 15,000 ATMs, and counts 60 million verified digital users and 4 million small business households among its customers, according to Bank of America and Banking Dive.
What We Don’t Know
Bank of America has not detailed which specific servicing scenarios or business lines will receive EricaAssist next, nor has it specified how the roughly one-minute call time reduction was measured or over what period. The bank also has not disclosed the underlying AI model or vendor powering the new generative AI capabilities.
Analysis
The EricaAssist upgrade illustrates a pattern taking hold across large financial institutions: rather than replacing human customer service staff with AI, banks are pairing employees with AI systems that work in the background, summarizing context and suggesting responses while a human remains the one speaking to the customer. Bank of America’s emphasis on “governance, transparency, and accountability,” in Ellis’s words, reflects the compliance sensitivities of deploying generative AI in a heavily regulated industry where errors in financial guidance carry real consequences.