{"id":29735,"date":"2019-02-05T14:21:09","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T13:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/?p=29735"},"modified":"2019-02-05T14:21:09","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T13:21:09","slug":"ubas-chatbot-leo-hits-over-1-million-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/ubas-chatbot-leo-hits-over-1-million-users\/","title":{"rendered":"UBA\u2019s Chatbot LEO Hits Over 1 million Users"},"content":{"rendered":"

United Bank for Africa (UBA Group) kicked off the first session of the week-long Social Media Week Lagos 2019 with the announcement that its chatbot Leo now covers 17 African countries and has one million subscribers.<\/p>\n

Leo was launched in January 2018 to enable customers of the bank have access to select banking services including account opening, loan applications, account balance checking, cheque confirmations, bill payment, account freezing and instant notifications.<\/p>\n

Described as an \u201calpha version\u201d by digital enthusiasts, Leo has\u00a0surpassed one million users on the bank’s mobile app, in just 12 months because of its numerous\u00a0benefits and acceptability,\u00a0a feat its close rivals have not been able to attain.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The AI-driven virtual assistant, which also has Facebook and WhatsApp banking capabilities, was first unveiled in January and today, one year later remains the preferred chat banker in Nigeria and across Africa where UBA is present , because it has clinically leap frogged others in every sense of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe formulation of this product is consistent with the bank\u2019s customer first philosophy, where we are doing things not the way we like, but focusing on what the customer want, where they want it and in the exact platform they want it,\u201d Kennedy Uzoka, UBA\u2019s managing director said at the unveiling of the chatbot in 2018.<\/p>\n

The bank\u2019s head of online banking, Augustine Abolusoro, in a presentation titled Game of Bots at Social Media Week 2019 disclosed that Leo is not just the first artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbot in Africa; it is also a multi-lingual chatbot with capability to speak languages like English, French, and Portuguese. The company plans to include Yoruba and other Nigerian languages very soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeo was developed with best in class AI technology: Natural language processing and machine learning,\u201d says Abolusoro. \u201cIt enables financial inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cAs we continue to advance our work on AI-driven developments, it is important that we listen to our users today and further enhance Leo to align to client feedback in order to better meet and anticipate needs and even give them increased value as Leo clocks one,\u201d Abolusoro added.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>This milestone reflects the bank\u2019s continued focus on providing industry-leading digital capabilities as part of its high-tech, high-touch client experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Everything learnt over the last one year of Leo\u2019s work will help UBA improve on its digital offerings, says Abolusoro, Head of online banking, who assured customers \u00a0of \u201cnothing short of the very best innovation in the coming months\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

In May 2018, Mark Zuckerberg thrust Leo into global limelight when he used the chatbot as an illustration of how businesses were leveraging Facebook to connect better with their customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeo is doing incredible things,\u201d Zuckerberg had said of Leo during his presentation.<\/p>\n

Abolusoro noted that as a result of the feature, Leo which is also available on Facebook-owned WhatsApp has gained one million subscribers. Till date it has hosted 70 million conversations.<\/p>\n

While 5 per cent of the subscriber population is within the age of 65 and above, an overwhelming 72 per cent are between 18 and 34 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Leo platform has the same kind of authentication you find on all our digital platforms,\u201d Abolusoro said regarding concerns around privacy and cyber security.<\/p>

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Advertisement<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

In 12 months since he was launched, Leo has won several awards, including the Euromoney Award\u00a0<\/span>which aptly validates his dominance in the digital banking space. Euromoney is a globally renowned organisation which appraises more than 20 global product categories, best-in-class awards and the best Banks in over 100 countries around the world, recognising institutions that have demonstrated leadership, innovation, and momentum in the markets in which they operate.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Leo won a million hearts in 12 months<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>With ever-increasing customer expectations of quick service and near real-time transactional support, United Bank for Africa (UBA) committed resources to Artificial Intelligence (AI) a year ago, birthing Leo, a Banking Chatbot that helps customers carry out key banking transactions anywhere, using mobile devices and personal computers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Leo can be accessed via Facebook or WhatsApp.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cOur customers are increasingly asking for mobile services that make their lives easier, and Leo is becoming a growing choice for his convenience and personal solutions,\u201d says Austin Abolusoro, who heads Online Banking at UBA.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Leo combines the latest technology in AI; predictive analytics and natural language, to be a virtual financial assistant to customers, who can interact with it any way they choose, including texting or tapping options on their screen. Leo has proven to be an important financial assistant, helping users to search for transactions, view account history and balance, pay bills, as well as track spending trends. Leo is also developing interest in other aspects of users\u2019 lives and currently helps them to check football scores and weather information. Leo will continue to learn and become more involved in the lives of users to better meet their needs and address their queries.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAs we continue to advance our work on AI-driven developments, it is important that we listen to our users today and further enhance Leo to align to client feedback in order to better meet and anticipate needs and even give them increased value as Leo clocks one,\u201d Abolusoro adds.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>This milestone reflects the bank\u2019s continued focus on providing industry-leading digital capabilities as part of its high-tech, high-touch client experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Everything learnt over the last one year of Leo\u2019s work will help UBA improve on its digital offerings, says Abolusoro, Head of online banking, who assured customers \u00a0of \u201cnothing short of the very best innovation in the coming months\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

L<\/span>eo is set to become a financial control centre for its wide range of users, offering them accessible and intelligent ways to manage their money. It will also be recommending ways to save money and automatically switch to the best value products available to the user.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leo who speaks multiple languages and is extremely user friendly, has become the \u00a0preferred\u00a0Banking Chatbot in Nigeria and the only available AI banking chatbot in 15 other countries across Africa,<\/s>\u00a0including Cameroon, Zambia, Cote D\u2019Ivoire, Senegal, Congo DRC, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and UBA\u2019s latest subsidiary, Mali.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 12 short months since he was launched, Leo has won several awards, including the Euromoney Award\u00a0<\/span>which aptly validates his dominance in the digital banking space. Euromoney is a globally renowned organisation which appraises more than 20 global product categories, best-in-class awards and the best Banks in over 100 countries around the world, recognising institutions that have demonstrated leadership, innovation, and momentum in the markets in which they operate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

United Bank for Africa (UBA Group) kicked off the first session of the week-long Social Media Week Lagos 2019 with the announcement that its chatbot Leo now covers 17 African countries and has one million subscribers. Leo was launched in January 2018 to enable customers of the bank have access to select banking services including …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":29736,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,1593,17,4648,624],"tags":[4322,727],"coauthors":[2391],"class_list":["post-29735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-business","category-metro","category-news","category-op-ed","category-politics","tag-leo","tag-uba"],"yoast_head":"\nUBA\u2019s Chatbot LEO Hits Over 1 million Users - National Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"United Bank for Africa (UBA Group) kicked off the first session of the week-long Social Media Week Lagos 2019 with the announcement that its chatbot Leo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/ubas-chatbot-leo-hits-over-1-million-users\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UBA\u2019s Chatbot LEO Hits Over 1 million Users - 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