Nuts & Bolts PAYMENTS TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS TECH TALK Chatting up the customers Chatbot technology has arrived in many large banks, using artificial intelligence to engage customers and employees on complex topics. Should community banks follow suit? By Karen Epper Hoffman irtual personal assistants, or chatbots, like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa have already introduced consumers to the idea of asking electronic devices for information or even advice, so it's not surprising that this technology is beginning to make a big splash in digital banking. Chatbots allow users to ask questions, verbally or by electronic message, and receive nearimmediate replies. The voice- or text-activated front end connects to data and artificial intelligence (AI) on the back end, enabling these bots to understand and respond to natural language. They offer conversational responses to questions that may range from " What's the weather going to be like this afternoon? " to " Where should I invest $10,000? " Two-thirds of consumers in developed markets will be using a virtual personal assistant independentbanker.org ICBA Independent Banker 65 Vhttp://www.independentbanker.org