Leading continental telecom giant, MTN Group has said it has launched Africa’s first Mobile Money (MoMo) Artificial Intelligence (AI) service or “chatbot” in Ivory Coast with the aim of hitting other economies before the end of the year.
Business Hilights gathered that the AI mobile money “assistant” enables customers to engage with MTN’s MoMo services, including payments, on various social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, and via SMS.
The group said the service would also be included over time, in MTN’s own newly released advanced instant messaging service “Ayoba,” noting that “the chatbot was an AI guide that assists users to navigate MTN’s MoMo services and provide other useful information”.
“This innovation leverages messaging and AI to drive customer engagement and enhance their MTN MoMo experience,” it added.
According to Rob Shuter, MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer, “We are passionate about bringing the power of our mobile money solutions to more than 60 million customers across Africa over the next few years.”
Shuter averred that “Harnessing modern technologies like AI could improve in scale, how MTN interacts with customers, enabling them to reach them anytime and anywhere, through a variety of channels including social networks and messaging applications”.
“We can also harness the power of AI to provide our customers with the right answers to their questions at the right time,” he added.
He disclosed that as part of MTN’s efforts in becoming the largest Fintech players across its footprint, the group will continue to add value to improving financial inclusion with a range of solutions aimed at addressing the needs of various market segments.
