Custobots在行动

Custobotsin Action Meet theCustobots: AI-drivenautomated customers4 Custobotservices available today10 Custobotsin banking and finance12 Challenges inCustobotDevelopmentand Deployment13 Krungsri Research view: How will banksrespond to the advent of machinecustomers?15 References16 Unlessexplicitlystatedotherwise,thispublicationandallmaterialthereinisunder the copyright ofKrungsriResearch. As such, the reuse, reproduction, oralteration of this text or any part thereof is absolutely prohibited without priorwrittenconsent.Thisreportdrawsonawiderangeofwell-establishedandtrustworthysources,butKrungsriResearchcanmakenoguaranteeoftheabsolute veracity of the material cited. Moreover,KrungsriResearch will not beheld responsible for any losses that may occur either directly or indirectly fromany use towhich this reportorthe datacontained therein maybe put.Theinformation,opinions,andjudgementsexpressedinthisreportarethoseofKrungsriResearch, but this publication does not necessarily reflect the opinionsof Bank ofAyudhyaPublic Company Limited or of any other companies withinthe same commercial group. This report is an accurate reflection of the thinkingand opinions ofKrungsriResearch as of the day of publication, but we reservethe right to change those opinions without prior notice. For research subscription, contactkrungsri.research@krungsri.com Executive summary The wave of technological progress has introduced numerous innovations into the mainstream, withartificial intelligence (AI) being the most recent and high-profile arrival. AI’s capabilities are vast,particularly in assisting with decision-making processes. These systems can identify core issues, gatherinformation, compare choices and outcomes, and make decisions. As AI can complete all stages of thisprocess, it is now possible for humans in business transactions to be replaced by AI-driven ‘machinecustomer’, or ‘custobots’ (a portmanteau of ‘customer’ and ‘robot’). Becausecustobotsare at an earlystage of development, their abilities remain limited. They are typically deployed in contexts where theiroperations are controlled by a human user. However, in the future,custobotsmay operate independentlyof immediate human oversight. This has the potential to generate significant economic impacts, withestimates suggesting these developments could generate over USD 300 billion in income by 2030.Nevertheless, deployingcustobotsremains a challenge. Issues such as customer worries overtransparency, uncertainties in marketing tocustobots, the divergence between technical services requiredby human and machine customers, and the impact of further technological progress and regulatorychanges need to be addressed. In the financial sector,custobotsmay support customer services or back-office operations. It may also become necessary to develop ‘non-human agents’ to interact withcustobotsas they become more effective and numerous. Chanatta Thararos Dr. Pimnara Hirankasi Researcherchanatta.thararos@krungsri.com+662296 2000 Ext:10214 Head of Research Division and Chief Economistpimnara.hirankasi@krungsri.com+662 296 6457 Meet theCustobots: AI-drivenautomated customers What arecustobotsand why are they important? Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly evolved from a novel technology to an integral part of thetechnological backdrop that supports modern consumer life. AI is thus transitioning to a mainstreamproduct, integrated into decision-making systems like AI-enabled object-detection inventory monitors thatalert when stocks are low, or virtual personal assistants that gather and collate data for users. Thesehuman-support systems are being rapidly developed, and an inflexion point may soon be reached when AIapplications become fully fledged independent agents, managing activities within their domain withouthuman intervention. ‘Custobot’ is a combination of the words ‘customer’ and ‘robot’ and is also known as a‘machinecustomer’. The IT and management consultancy Gartner1/definescustobotsasnon-human economicagents that can source and negotiate for goods and services in exchange for payment automatically.These have been designed as ‘customer agents’ that offer personalized experiences to their users. Unlikevirtual assistants like Alexa and Siri, smart devices, or general automated systems,custobotscancontinuously learn from interactions with users and trade partners and adapt organically to changingsituations. This allowscustobotsto act as full customer agents in the market. By 2028, an estimated 15billion internet-enabled devices able to function as customer agents, andby 2030,custobotsarepredicted to generate USD 300 billion in earnings. This rapid expansion will elevate the importance ofcustobotsabove digital commerce2/. Nevertheless, the prediction that ‘human customers will be replaced by machines’ is not new. In 2019,David G.W. Birch suggested in an online article3/that human customers would gain greater access to high-performance AI systems provided by le