Equity release provider Key has adopted speech analytics technology Aveni.ai to help identify and support vulnerable customers.
Key will embed the platform within its customer interactions, monitoring conversations with artificial intelligence to help vulnerable customers.
Customer vulnerability has risen up the financial services agenda recently, following the FCA’s guidance that firms must act to understand the needs of vulnerable customers and make sure they are treated fairly.
Historically, identifying customer vulnerability or those who are at high risk has been the role of an adviser, requiring them to flag a potential issue for further investigation. By using Aveni.ai to monitor all its conversations with customers, specific keywords and phrases can be automatically flagged and routed to the compliance team at Key for review. For example, certain topics mentioned in conversations with an agent, such as a bereavement or illness, may be indications that a customer is potentially vulnerable and requires support.
The new partnership will also allow Key to support adviser training and oversight processes, as well as boost quality assurance processes.
Will Hale, CEO of Key, said: “We embrace innovation at Key, and our partnership with Aveni.ai demonstrates our commitment to using technology to consistently improve the quality of our advice, and ensure we continue to lead the market in how we support our clients. Beyond efficiency, this partnership will allow us to drive greater transparency and oversight, and help us to better identify vulnerable and other high risk customers, all of which contribute towards ensuring the best possible outcomes for our customers.”
Joseph Twigg, CEO of Aveni, added: “Every company is unique, and off-the-shelf speech analytics tools often deliver less than optimal results, so we start by understanding the specific problems our customers are trying to solve. It’s great to work with a company like Key that truly cares about its clients and recognises that innovative solutions can help improve customer service and ultimately unlock a wealth of new intelligence and insight.”
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