BMO Leverages Power of Artificial Intelligence to Roll Out Personal Banking Chatbot for Facebook Messenger

Designed with artificial intelligence and natural language processing capabilities, the personal banking chatbot for Facebook Messenger - named BMO Bolt - is first-of-its-kind for a major bank in Canada

• BMO also launches BMO Virtual Assistant – a menu-based question and answer chatbot for Twitter
• New chatbots provide a convenient and less time-consuming option, providing instantaneous responses

TORONTO, March 15, 2018 /CNW/ - BMO today announced the roll out of two new innovative chatbots for Facebook Messenger and Twitter, which provide instant responses to frequent customer inquiries. The chatbots deliver added convenience to customers who are increasingly choosing online options for their everyday banking needs.

"Our goal is to provide an exceptional customer experience and meet our customers where they are, and digital is increasingly becoming the preferred way for our customers to engage with us on a daily basis," said Brett Pitts, Chief Digital Officer, BMO Financial Group. "The launch of these chatbots, and the integration of AI into our customer facing technology, provides an opportunity to build upon the relationships we have with our digitally active customers and create more convenient and personalized experiences through both self-service and assisted-service channels."

BMO Bolt: BMO's Personal Banking Chatbot for Facebook Messenger

• Developed in partnership with Finn AI, BMO Bolt is a first-of-its-kind capability for a major bank in Canada and is designed to offer guidance and information to customers in real time
• Fully integrated into BMO's Facebook Messenger service, BMO Bolt has been fed with 250 of the top customer questions received via BMO's call centres, BMO.com and the Online Banking help centre
• AI and natural language processing capabilities allow BMO Bolt to interpret customer intentions and provide the most relevant answers
• As BMO Bolt continues to engage with customers and answer questions, it will learn and improve, enhancing the value of the chatbot over time
• At any time, customers have the option to talk to live social care associate during business hours

BMO Virtual Assistant: BMO's Twitter Chatbot

• Developed in partnership with Massively, the BMO Virtual Assistant is a menu-based question and answer chatbot for Twitter that helps customers find the information they need quickly and easily
• Customers start in a traditional Twitter Direct Messaging experience, with the added option to engage with a BMO Virtual Assistant chatbot
• Once a customer has chosen to engage the BMO Virtual Assistant, they are presented with a menu of available topics
• As with BMO Bolt, there is the option to switch to a live social care associate for additional help

Mr. Pitts added that these new features will give customers more choice and control in terms of how they engage with the bank, while providing another convenient option to get the answers they need quickly.

For more information on BMO's digital products and services, please click here.

About BMO Financial Group
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider – the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $728 billion as of January 31, 2018, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group

Media Contacts: Matthew Duffin, [e-mail], [phone]; Michelle Agnelo, [e-mail], [phone]; Web: www.bmo.com, Twitter: @BMOmedia