Workplace pension provider Smart Pension has incorporated virtual assistant SAVA into its customer service team to improve the user experience.
The fully interactive avatar is able to respond to human questions in real time via a computer or mobile around the clock, 365 days a year.
SAVA is capable of functioning in 22 languages and users are able to speak or type questions. Smart Pensions said the technology would make information about pensions and retirement available to everyone, including those savers who have difficult reading or writing.
Sue Whittington, director of operations at Smart Pension, said: “We’re delighted to have SAVA on board as part of our award-winning customer service team. As SAVA provides assistance to our nearly one million members who have their queries quickly answered, it reduces wait times for customers whose questions require technical assistance. All of this means our UK team can put even more time and investment into helping employers and savers with their pension needs.”
The technology was built by Smart in collaboration with partner Trulience and is the culmination of years of work by Trulience’s co-founders Marek Zwiefka-Sibley and Ben Weeks.
Jamie Fiveash, CEO of Smart UK, said: “Developing state-of-the-art technology to put our customers at the heart of the user experience is key. By automating the simple stuff, our valued colleagues can focus on helping our clients with the hard stuff that an interactive avatar cannot.
“Trulience is a key part of us improving our customer experience now, and will be with us long into the future. We are the first fintech firm to offer this service to our members, and it will be a continuously evolving part of our next generation global savings technology platform going forward.”
