First Financial Sees Financial Gains with Kasisto

First Financial Bank, the fifth-oldest national bank in the United States, has experienced a 10 percent increase in new accounts since introducing its AI-powered digital assistant, Gabby. The primary lift has come from new deposits and loans.

Through a partnership with Kasisto, creator of the KAI conversational artificial intelligence platform for financial services, First Financial Bank is tapping into AI to increase customer usage across banking products, including CDs, mortgages, personal loans, and car loans.

“Integrating Gabby into our First Financial team has been crucial to elevating the client experience,” says Brad Waldhoff, chief information officer of First Financial Bank, which is headquartered in Terre Haute, Ind., has more than $4.8 billion in assets and 252,000 customers, and operates 70 banking centers in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

“The positive response from our customers and team members alike has been encouraging and has allowed us to deepen our relationships by providing more information that can help our customers achieve financial wellness. The success we’ve experienced at this stage is a testament to the work the Kasisto team has provided, leveling-up our banking experience through their future-facing technology,” Waldhoff adds.

First Financial Bank launched its KAI-powered intelligent digital assistant “Gabby” in May 2023 to provide customers with a frictionless experience between digital and employee-assisted channels. It has done that and more.

Since its launch in mid-2023, First Financial’s Gabby digital assistant has seen double-digit increases in deposit and loan accounts.

Through Kasisto’s no-code AI platform, Gabby came pre-integrated on day one with LinkLive, the bank’s all-in-one communications platform. Kasisto’s user experience combines seamlessly with LinkLive’s customer care capabilities to create a truly differentiated experience for consumers and live chat agents alike. In this way, Gabby bridges the gap between customers’ digital and physical banking experiences, ensuring queries are resolved seamlessly through either channel.

First Financial Bank has closely monitored Gabby’s performance on a variety of business criteria.and has found that currently, 90 percent of the questions presented to Gabby are contained, meaning that the customer does not need to contact a live agent at First Financial for further assistance. And usage of the digital assistant spans generations; a similar percentage of the Silent Generation (ages 78 to 98) are using Gabby as Millennials (ages 29 to 43).

Gabby has also expanded First Financial’s hours of operation beyond traditional banker’s hours. In fact, 40 percent of interactions with Gabby occur outside regular hours, and 20 percent occur during the weekend. And digital banking customers who use Gabby are more highly engaged, logging in 46 percent more often on average than digital banking customers who do not use Gabby.

“Today’s banking experience needs to meet customers where they are, and AI technology is what allows banks to meet this demand,” says Kasisto CEO Zor Gorelov. “Our work with First Financial Bank demonstrates how digital assistants and AI can further the goals of the bank while providing customers with a banking experience that meets and anticipates their banking needs.”

The Payoff

In the past year since introducing Gabby, a digital assistant based on Kasisto's KAI platform, First Financial Bank has seen a 10 percent increase in the number of new deposit and loan accounts opened, with the following breakdown:

• a 27 percent increase in new CD accounts;
• a 35 percent increase in new mortgages;
• a 28 percent increase in new personal loans; and
• a 5 percent increase in new car loans.