A Breath of Fresh AIR: Revolut’s Financial Literacy Chatbot

AIR, or AI by Revolut, is the latest innovation that the banking titan has introduced as it elevates its customer experience strategy. 

With over 70 million global customers, the bank’s innovation results in more than 1 billion transactions monthly. 

Revolut’s in-app assistant will provide users with more insight to spending habits, which the bank says empowers users to gain a “holistic view” of their money. 

The AI assistant is integrated within Revolut’s ecosystem, going “beyond” a traditional chatbot, it says. The product launch comes in with immediate effect. 

Utilising conversational AI, the assistant facilitates easy navigation through spending habits and card controls for users. 

The assistant can track investments or freeze a lost card in addition to managing subscriptions through a united “intuitive” conversation. 

While embedded into Revolut’s banking operations, AIR is also capable of enabling customers with budgets, in addition to linking to the company’s other products such as purchasing Revolut eSIMS in app for upcoming travel. 

Julia Ponomareva, Director and General Manager of CX and AI Products at Revolut says: “We believe the era of navigating through endless tabs and menus is over. With AIR, we’re delivering a new level of money intelligence that’s both powerful and effortless.

“It’s not just an assistant; it’s a co-pilot that elevates everyday life, making financial management as easy and natural as sending a text. Crucially, Revolut customers also remain firmly in the driver’s seat, ensuring that money intelligence never comes at the cost of privacy”

Noting privacy, the bank stress that consumers remain in control. The controls in place for the Revolut app also apply to AIR, as it will not be able to access any data that isn’t already visible to the customer. 

This includes information such as transactions, cards and investments. 

Data sharing is also addressed, as the bank claims that third-party AI partners do not store personal information as part of Revolut’s zero data retention policy. Ultimately this also results in the data not being available to be used for training external models. 

Is this a new era of accessible finance? 

Handing back controls to consumers is the latest strategy as banks embrace conversational AI. 

The drive forward into a new era propels customer independence, ending what Revolut calls the “era of multi-step navigation”.

Revolut’s announcement comes shortly after Starling announced its AI assistant, the UK’s first agentic AI assistant for money management and accessibility. 

Where Revolut relies on its own system, Starling has paired with Google Gemini, and also utilises conversational AI to help users navigate finances. 

Graham Drury, Director, FSI, Google Cloud in the UK and Ireland said at the time: “It’s a powerful example of using AI to make money management more intuitive, accessible, and secure for everyone.”

Starling’s assistant has accessibility features to tailor to vulnerable customers, allowing users to ask questions as the assistant responds to voice prompts. 

Raman Bhatia, Starling’s Group CEO, explained at the time: “Gen AI has transformative potential for financial services and Starling is showing what’s possible, whether it’s protecting people from scams or helping them better understand their spending.”