LHV Bank has deployed an AI agent to handle routine customer email enquiries in the UK, allowing customers to receive responses around the clock without waiting for a member of its support team.
The digital bank has introduced the service in partnership with Gradient Labs, following a proof of concept announced earlier this year. The technology can resolve certain enquiries independently, while more complicated or sensitive cases are referred to bank employees.
Customers can use the service for everyday banking questions, including lost cards, payment explanations, transfers and updates on existing requests.
Unlike AI systems that draft responses for employees to review, the agent can complete specified customer service processes without requiring human approval at every stage.
CONTROLS AND OVERSIGHT
LHV Bank said the technology operates within predefined procedures, with restrictions on the information and systems it can access. The bank’s employees remain responsible for establishing those procedures and deciding which cases require human intervention.
The system combines large language models with rules-based controls designed for a regulated banking environment. These determine when an action can proceed, when it must be blocked and when an enquiry should be escalated, including cases involving complaints or vulnerable customers.
According to LHV, customer data is accessed only during live interactions and is not used to train the underlying models or develop the agent.
The bank is also using Gradient Labs’ Collaborate platform to manage changes to the service. Staff from operations, product development, engineering, risk and compliance can test proposed amendments against representative customer scenarios before approving their deployment.
The platform maintains a record of changes and approvals, while allowing updates to be reversed if necessary.
FURTHER EXPANSION PLANNED
LHV initially intends to extend the range of customer enquiries that can be handled through its UK email service.
It is also considering the technology for live chat and voice support, alongside back-office functions and financial crime processes, including customer onboarding, know your customer (KYC) checks and anti-money laundering (AML) procedures.
A potential deployment within LHV’s Estonian operations is also being explored.
Kris Brewster, interim chief executive of LHV Bank, says: “As a digital-only bank, we don’t have to accept the way customer service has always been done. Others in the industry are using AI co-pilots that simply draft replies for staff to approve.
“This might speed up individual steps, but customer queries still sit in the same queue, and when the AI is usually right, people can start approving suggestions without checking them closely.
“We wanted to go further and give customers an answer straight away, while keeping our people firmly in control of how the service works and stepping in whenever a case needs them.
“Getting that balance right is what responsible innovation looks like to us.”
Dimitri Masin, chief executive of Gradient Labs, adds: “The future of AI in financial services is not a faster human approving AI suggestions at every step.
“It is trusted agents taking responsibility for defined work, supported by deterministic controls, clear escalation points and human judgement where it matters.
“LHV is showing what that can look like in practice.”
