Dutch insurance company NN Group NV recently announced that it will gradually phase out traditional pre-programmed chatbots and instead adopt more advanced artificial intelligence assistants to enhance the customer interaction experience. The company has also launched an AI-assisted tool to help call center employees answer customer questions more efficiently. Chief Executive Officer David Knibbe said that these improvements have significantly enhanced the quality of service and acknowledged that customer dissatisfaction with traditional chatbots is widespread. As part of its digital transformation, NN Group plans to invest 450 million euros in technological upgrades by 2027, which is expected to save 180 million euros in costs, partly through layoffs.
This move reflects the strong interest of the European financial services industry in AI technology, but it also highlights the challenges in its application process. Payment company Klarna Group Plc and other enterprises have begun to slow down AI-driven layoff plans because excessive focus on costs has led to a decline in quality. Knibbe admitted that NN Group also made mistakes in the early application of AI, such as being overly focused on the cross-selling function while neglecting the scalability of the technology. However, the company has adjusted its strategy and is rapidly promoting the AI marketing model developed in Poland to other markets such as Romania.
The case of NN Group shows that although AI has great potential in the field of financial services, enterprises still need to deal with a steep learning curve. Knibbe emphasized that balancing technology deployment and user experience is key, and in the future, it will continue to optimize AI tools to enhance efficiency and service quality.
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