Municipal lender Bank of Changsha has announced the official launch of two new virtual employees – Xiao Le (小乐) and Ying Ying (盈盈), as part of an ongoing wave of the digital transformation of the Chinese financial sector.
Xiao Le is a cartoon avatar whose professional roles include “operations guidance, operations responses, investment education and insurance promotion.”
“[He] can independently and accurately provide assistance, responses, operations guidance and operations handling for our bank’s transactions via online and offline channels,” said Bank of Changsha in an official media statement.
Ying Ying is a human avatar whose interests include “the zither, weiqi, calligraphy and painting,” and whose personality is described as “gentle and demure.”
Her professional roles include “virtual broadcasting, product promotion, operations handling, smart responses and operations training.”
“[She] can greet customers in offline and offline scenarios, as well as promote products and provide operations consulting,” Bank of Changsha said. “Ying Ying can also provide services in roles including digital customer services, digital financial management and digital wealth management.”
Bank of Changsha flagged the further expansion of the role of virtual staff in its client-facing operations.
“In future the value of virtual staff will be unleashed across all operations,” the bank said. “The next step will be for us to focus on upgrades to smart capabilities, expansion of virtual images, exploration of applications scenarios, and the creation of a complete closed circuit including pre-sale, mid-sale and post-sale operation.”
