Wells Fargo's AI-Powered Assistant, Fargo, Surpasses 20 Million Interactions!

Fun fact: Did you know 83% of companies treat AI (Artificial Intelligence) as a top priority in their business plans? Well, embarking on an innovative journey in the realm of AI, Wells Fargo, one of the leading banks in the United States, is making significant strides in artificial intelligence, particularly with its generative AI applications.

Yes, you read it right, revealing a staggering 20 million interactions since March, Fargo, the bank's virtual assistant powered by Google AI, is poised to revolutionize the industry with an ambitious target of 100 million annual interactions. Wells Fargo's proactive approach challenges conventional norms, making waves in the ever-evolving landscape of financial technology.

Contrary to the prevailing trend where most large companies are still in the proof-of-concept stage with generative AI, Wells Fargo is accelerating its AI initiatives. This is noteworthy considering the stringent financial regulations surrounding privacy issues. Mehta emphasized the bank's commitment, revealing that 4,000 employees have undergone Stanford's Human-centered AI program, HAI. Moreover, Wells Fargo has many generative AI projects in production, mainly aimed at enhancing back-office task efficiency.

TechDogs-"A Screengrab Of Fargo Mobile Banking App."

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What Is Fargo And How Is It Different?

Wells Fargo's virtual assistant, Fargo, operates on top of the bank's robust "Tachyon" platform. Designed to facilitate everyday banking inquiries via voice or text on smartphones, Fargo boasts a remarkable 2.7 interactions per session.

The app handles tasks such as bill payments, fund transfers and transaction details. Initially built on Google Dialogflow and launched with Google's PaLM 2 LLM, Fargo is now evolving to incorporate various LLMs (Large Language Models) for different tasks, reflecting the bank's commitment to adaptability.
Another notable application utilizing LLMs is Livesync, which offers customers advice on goal-setting and planning. Within its first month of launch, Livesync garnered one million monthly active users, underscoring the positive reception of Wells Fargo's AI-driven offerings.

Wells Fargo has also ventured into open-source LLMs, such as Meta's Llama 2 model, for internal purposes. According to Wells Fargo’s CIO Chintan Mehta, “We think this is actually capable of doing close to 100 million or more [interactions] per year, as we add more conversations, more capabilities.”
The bank's AI platform, Tachyon, remains a pivotal component in its AI strategy. Built on the principles that no single AI model should dominate, apps should not rely on a single cloud service provider and data transfers may encounter challenges, Tachyon accommodates new, larger models with resilience and performance.

What Is The Future Of LLM Models Like Fargo?

Mehta anticipates the future of AI lies in multimodal LLMs, enabling communication through images, video, text and voice. He envisions these multimodal models as "critical" for enhanced user experience.

Mehta provided a hypothetical example of a commerce app where users could upload an image of a cruise ship, prompting the virtual assistant to guide them through the process of booking a ride.

Despite the advancements in multimodal models like Gemini, Mehta highlighted the significance of "input multimodality," emphasizing the need for LLMs to understand user intent without excessive text inputs.

He pointed out that, as visual mediums, apps demand a shift toward more agentic and intuitive AI, particularly in areas like providing advice and guiding users through complex tasks.

Nevertheless, Wells Fargo's commitment to embracing AI technology positions the bank as a trailblazer in the financial sector. It demonstrates that large institutions can successfully integrate and leverage generative AI for enhanced customer experiences and operational efficiency.

Do you think Fargo’s move will be a huge leap forward in the era of financial technology?

Feel free to drop your thoughts in the comments section below.

First published on Tue, Jan 16, 2024

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