In an insightful conversation with Dr. Rashi Gupta, Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer of Rezo.ai, we explore the world of Conversational AI and the great promise it holds for the NBFC and BFSI sectors. In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, the face of traditional banking and financial interactions have changed beyond recognition. From identifying high-value leads for enhanced customer acquisition, facilitating a seamless and efficient customer onboarding/renewal process to efficiently managing collections optimisation, debt recovery, premium collection processes and penal payments, Rezo.ai has been orchestrating a paradigm shift in how businesses navigate customer engagement in a rapidly changing world. Initially focused on loan collections in NBFC, Rezo’s evolution was marked by its ability to adapt collections expertise to other areas of broader BFSI operations and also by the BFSI’s need to diversify beyond legacy systems and physical infrastructure. Rezo has witnessed a threefold rise in revenue while expanding its team size by twofold. Rezo’s daily call capacity has surged to 30 lakh calls and it has bold plans of automating calls comparable to a 40,000-agent call centre, amplifying call capacity to 1 crore calls daily and expanding its Conversational AI proficiency to the US market.

1. Could you provide insight into REZO's primary areas of focus? Additionally, which industries do you believe hold the greatest promise for the seamless integration of Conversational AI?

REZO's primary area of focus revolves around running a fully functional contact centre in an automated manner, which includes customer support, enabling sales, and understanding contact centre performance. All this is made possible using AI agents, ensuring an always-on and consistent experience. We are envisioning a new world where customers don’t have to wait, their queries get resolved quickly and they are offered only those services/products which are relevant to them, ultimately leading to higher NPS and better conversions.

The AI is capable of end-to-end query resolution and also augments human agents in the lead conversion process, as well as post-call operations like summarization, updating CRMs and other overheads.

Industries like BFSI, Automobile, Telecom, Retail, Logistics, Travel, Healthcare and EdTech exhibit substantial promise for seamless Conversational AI integration and we have been able to unlock maximum value for contact centres and enterprises with large customer bases experiencing high volumes of interactions.

2. Could you share with us the journey of REZO from NBFC to BFSI? Furthermore, what notable impact have you delivered to the clients you've worked for in this industry?

Our journey from serving first the Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) to the broader Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector involved a strategic transition. Initially focused on collections, we diversified our offerings to include additional use cases such as identifying high-value leads for enhanced customer acquisition, facilitating a seamless and efficient customer onboarding/renewal process, efficiently managing and collecting penal payments etc.

This evolution was marked by our ability to adapt collections expertise to other areas of BFSI operations and also by the BFSI’s need to diversify beyond legacy systems and physical infrastructure. Notably, we have effectively optimised these processes, leveraging Conversational AI to automate interactions, segment customers for targeted strategies and optimise treatment plans. Our impact has resulted in more efficient operations, better collection efficiencies and substantial gains for our clients.

3. Collaboration between technology providers and traditional financial institutions is crucial. How do you work with BFSI partners to integrate your conversational AI seamlessly into their existing systems and processes?

Our integration architecture is designed in such a way that it can either integrate seamlessly with the CRM of our client or it can replace it with our own CCaaS support gateway. Our support gateway effortlessly integrates with clients' Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, enabling AI-driven customer interactions. The integration process also involves CRM integration, empowering workflow automation execution. We downward integrate with clients' CRMs, fetching data and reaching out to customers based on queries, and then upward integrate, updating CRMs with acquired customer information after interactions.

In case, we have to replace the existing CCI (Customer Centre Infrastructure) of our BFSI partners, we do it with our Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) support gateway, streamlining customer outreach where everything happens on a single platform without having to integrate with other systems.

4. Could you explain how Rezo's innovative approach to collection optimisation using conversational AI has impacted debt recovery and premium collection processes for BFSI companies?

Our approach to collection optimisation utilising Conversational AI focuses on creating tailored/customised customer journeys for each borrower and it has yielded significant impacts in debt recovery and premium collection processes. We do it in the following ways:

Automating Interactions: We automate reminders, follow-ups and interactions via voice, chat and email, effectively reducing the operational load.

Segmentation and Targeted Strategies: By segmenting customers based on credit history, payment behaviour and other factors, we develop precise strategies for each group, optimising recovery efforts.

Treatment Planning: We define customer journeys tailored to each segment, reaching out with automated, AI-driven interactions across all segments.

Optimised Timing and Channels: Our AI determines the ideal time to engage customers, through their preferred channels and languages, enhancing the effectiveness of collection efforts.

5. As Conversational AI continues to evolve, what are the upcoming trends and advancements that BFSI leaders should anticipate and capitalise on to maintain their competitive edge in customer engagement and service delivery?

Despite the significant advancements in AI, the BFSI sector has yet to fully embrace its potential. The challenges faced during the integration of AI into the sector's operations offer valuable insights into how it can harness upcoming AI trends. Some of these emerging trends include:

Contextual Comprehension- Progress in Natural Language Processing empowers AI systems to grasp the nuances and context of conversations. This fosters more natural and pertinent interactions, ultimately enhancing customer engagement and problem-solving.

Anticipatory Insights and Recommendations- Conversational AI platforms excel in delivering proactive insights and suggestions, providing timely financial guidance and opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.

Strengthened AI-Enabled Security- Incorporating voice and biometric recognition fortifies security, facilitating both secure and seamless customer authentication processes.

Emotional Intelligence- AI's capacity to discern and respond to human emotions brings about more empathetic and efficient interactions.

6. Data security and privacy are paramount in the BFSI industry. How does your Conversational AI solution ensure compliance with these concerns while handling sensitive customer data during collection interactions?

Our operation is PSI DSS compliant and we are also ISO 270001 certified which speaks of our credibility as a secure partner in handling sensitive customer data. As far as the operational part is concerned, we make sure to limit access to client data only to those employees who need it to perform their job duties. We also use strong authentication methods, such as multi-factor authentication, to ensure that only authorised individuals can access the data. The customer data, moreover, is encrypted both in storage and during transit which adds another layer of security against unauthorised access. Other than that we regularly assess our organisation's security posture and firewalls and intrusion detection/prevention systems to identify potential vulnerabilities and take steps to address them. We also regularly monitor network activity for unusual or suspicious behaviour.

7. One of the key challenges for financial institutions is reducing NPAs. How does your AI technology assist in identifying and addressing potential defaulters, ultimately leading to a reduction in NPAs?

Our AI technology addresses the challenge of NPAs by examining customer credit history, payment behaviour and patterns to identify individuals who might potentially default. Based on their delinquency stage we categorise customers and create tailored strategies suited to each group. This enables enterprises to take a proactive approach towards managing NPAs.

8. What has been the company's recent growth and what are your expansion plans?

We've accomplished a threefold rise in revenue and expanded our team size twofold, bringing in Vice Presidents for Operations, Product, and Sales. Our daily call capacity has surged to 30 lakh calls. We have some bold plans that include automating calls comparable to a 40,000-agent call centre, amplifying our call capacity to 1 crore calls daily and expanding our Conversational AI proficiency to the US market.