BACB’s digital assistant, BIANCA now offers customers another way to communicate. In addition to typing their questions in the chat, customers can now ask them by voice and receive spoken responses in Bulgarian or English.
The new functionality does not change BIANCA’s purpose and does not constitute a separate banking service. It expands the ways customers can use the digital assistant’s existing capabilities. Users can choose whether they want a particular conversation to take place via text or voice.
BIANCA, developed by DigiTech Consult for Bulgarian American Credit Bank (BACB), is part of the bank’s digital channels and is available through its website. BACB introduced the assistant in 2023 as a solution designed to provide information and assistance related to banking products and services. Voice communication was already identified at the time as one of the planned areas for further development.
The ongoing development of BIANCA also illustrates how customer service automation can be enhanced with additional communication capabilities while maintaining the digital assistant’s original purpose.
How does BIANCA’s voice mode work?
When voice mode is activated, customers can ask their question aloud instead of typing it on a keyboard. BIANCA can recognize speech in Bulgarian and English and provide a spoken response in the corresponding language.
The practical difference lies in the way users interact with the assistant. If speaking is more convenient at a particular moment, they can use voice. If they prefer to read the information on screen or are in an environment where voice communication is unsuitable, they can continue the conversation through text.
This means that the same conversation can move between voice and text depending on the situation, without requiring the user to start a separate interaction with another assistant.
What can you talk to BIANCA about?
Voice mode provides an additional way to access the topics and functions BIANCA already supports.
When BACB first introduced the assistant, the bank highlighted enquiries related to consumer and mortgage loans, deposit and savings products, overdrafts, tax and utility bill payments, Chista Smetka, BACB Online, and other topics for both individual and business customers.
For example, if you are looking for information about financing, you can ask BIANCA about BACB’s consumer loans or mortgage loans. If your question concerns remote banking services, additional information is also available on the BACB Online page.
What is new is that some of these conversations can now begin with a spoken question.
What does a voice conversation with BIANCA look like?
Imagine that you want to learn more about mortgage financing. Instead of typing your question into the chat field, you activate voice mode and ask:
“What information can I get about a mortgage loan?”
BIANCA recognizes the question and provides a spoken response. If you then prefer to continue in writing, you can switch back to text mode.
The same approach can be used to start a conversation about other topics supported by the assistant, such as a banking product, BACB Online, or Chista Smetka.
How do you activate voice communication?
Open BIANCA through the BACB website and select the voice communication option in the assistant interface.
When using it for the first time, your browser or device may ask for permission to access the microphone. This permission is required so that BIANCA can receive and recognize your spoken question.
Once voice mode is activated, you can ask your question in Bulgarian or English. Whenever you prefer to continue without using the microphone, you can switch back to text communication.
This ability to choose how to interact is the key change in the customer experience. Users are free to select the communication method that is more suitable for the situation they are in.
When will the interaction not be entirely voice-based?
Voice mode applies to communication with BIANCA. It does not mean that every step within a banking process can be completed using voice alone.
When an action requires customers to provide personal or sensitive information, they may need to enter the relevant details through a designated form rather than speaking them aloud. This approach helps customers maintain privacy when sharing information, particularly in public spaces or when other people are nearby. It reduces the risk of personal details being overheard by third parties.
A similar approach is already reflected in BACB’s existing digital processes. For example, banking product pages include separate enquiry forms where customers provide the necessary information.
Voice mode therefore offers a more convenient and natural way to communicate with BIANCA, while allowing individual steps within banking processes to be completed in a manner appropriate to the information required and the need to protect personal data.
BIANCA continues to evolve, with more choice in how customers interact
BIANCA was developed as a joint project between BACB and DigiTech Consult, using DRUID AI technology.
BACB describes the project as part of the broader development of its digital customer service, while an external Digitalk publication presents the solution as a banking AI assistant available both through the BACB website and Viber.
The original implementation, business challenges, and development of the solution are also explored in our article, Revolutionizing Banking: BACB & DigiTech’s BIANCA Case Study.
The new voice mode continues this development by introducing a practical change in how customers interact with the assistant. When users prefer to type, they can continue using text. When speaking is more convenient, they can activate voice mode and ask their questions aloud.
Open BIANCA on the BACB website, activate voice mode, and ask your first question.
