Capital One’s Annie Fallows talks AI evolution
Capital One is looking at ways to expand the use of AI-based agents on the heels of launching its agentic AI-based tool, Chat Concierge, earlier this year.Chat Concierge answers customer queries and can help with tasks such as comparing available vehicles and exploring financing options online before consumers head to a dealership. In building its tech stack, Capital One reviewed how consumers use AI-based tools, the types of questions they ask, and how digital communication can be used to drive customers into the dealership, Annie Fallows, head of the bank’s dealer-facing Navigator Platform, told Auto Finance News. Navigator Platform, launched in 2023, allows dealers to access information such as inventory searches and pre-qualification to provide more accurate financing offers to customers. “We made an intentional choice that we wanted to lead with being helpful versus lead with immediately trying to collect [a customer’s] name and contact info,” she said. “Our dealers are able to take all that information about what's happened on the chat to pick up in store and get to that car sale that everyone is working for. This is just the beginning of the journey.” The bank is reviewing ways to improve Chat Concierge and apply it to other operations both internally and externally, Fallows said, “whether that’s making our associates more effective [or] looking at additional places in the dealer process that would benefit from this type of interaction. “We’re at the beginning of a new journey, and it starts with making sure that our models and our technology are working the way that they're intended and providing high-quality interactions.” Capital One’s auto originations rose 22.4% year over year in the first quarter to $9.2 billion, while the bank’s auto book ticked up 5.2% YoY to $77.7 billion, according to the bank’s April 22 earnings supplement. During this special episode of the “Weekly Wrap,” podcast, Auto Finance News Editor Amanda Harris and Capital One’s Fallows discuss the latest trends in customer experience, dealer relations and technology.