My own bank didn’t score too well in our recent chatbot research. A little disheartened, I thought I’d try a new product.
Enter Cleo.
Not a bank.
But the “world’s first AI financial assistant”.
With Plaid integration, I was interested to see what it could do with my personal data.
- Could Cleo make some sense of my spending habits?
- Would it offer suggestions on where to save some money?
- Might it prove more useful than my core banking app?
A full 2 minutes to set up integration to my bank. Then I gave it whirl. And now I’m hooked.
They say “Cleo replaces confusing bank apps with a smart, human voice and personalised guidance that helps people understand and manage their money confidently”.
All true. And they make it look so easy.
Cleo blends personalisation, context and proactice guidance into everyday money management. Rather than waiting for me to ask questions, it surfaces insights that genuinely feel useful.
Here are five things others can learn from Cleo:
1. Make it personal
You have your customers’ data and you know their habits, so you can offer value before they ask you for anything.
Keeping it fresh and offering practical real life value gives reasons to return.
2. Understand the question and answer it
Sounds simple, but this comes down to natural language comprehension.
Lots of the providers in our recent chatbot study really struggled with the simple question “what did I spend the most money on?”. You can take a look for yourself here.
3. Put the user in control
Do the heavy lifting for your customers, but allow them to set categories that make sense for them.
DIY budget for the kitchen reno? Gottit, let’s give that a category of its own.
4. Be transparent with your logic
This is your customer’s personal data, their lifestyle habits.
Any decisions that you influence could have a huge impact on their wellbeing so clever algorithms aside, transparency is king.
5. Surface data outside of the app
Present the data in the moment. Package with guidance and also feel goods.
There’s reassurance with visibility of transactions that have gone through. And also trust when you check in about spikes in spending.
And personal wins?
In my first week:
- I’ve been slammed for spending too much on Pimms at Wimbledon (someone had to tell me)
- I’ve been prompted to cancel a couple of subscriptions that were gathering dust – sorry Omaze!
- I’ve also set a groceries budget & hope to be held accountable
It feels like Cleo has given me some unfair insider knowledge into my own spending. No spreadsheets, no scrolling through statements.
This feels like an AI agent done well. As a customer, it’s won my attention and, more importantly, my engagement.
Is my bank happy simply being a tool for moving money, whilst the intelligence & decision making happens elsewhere?
And what if Cleo were to partner with a bank?
