UK neobank Zopa has launched a new AI-powered banking assistant that allows customers to manage their finances using natural language as part of its efforts to make banking more personalised and intuitive.

The new feature, called Ask, is being rolled out to customers using holding a current account with the bank and enables users to complete everyday banking tasks by typing or speaking requests in plain English.

The digital bank said customers can use the assistant to send money, request payments, create savings pots, split bills from a photo of a receipt, pay invoices by uploading an image, and manage everyday account functions without navigating traditional banking menus.

The AI tool can also help customers plan their finances by setting savings goals, creating budgets and monitoring spending. For example, users can ask the assistant to help them save a specific amount by a deadline or alert them if they exceed a chosen spending limit on categories such as takeaways.

Zopa said Ask is powered by the bank's proprietary AI platform and agentic architecture, which it claims can understand customer intent and carry out actions rather than simply respond with information.

The launch forms part of Zopa's wider strategy to become what it describes as an “AI-native bank”, embedding AI throughout its customer experience and internal operations rather than adding chatbot functionality onto existing banking services.

Zopa said it has invested in AI infrastructure, data enrichment and financial insights capabilities to support customers across banking, money management and customer service.

According to Zopa, customers who have interacted with its AI services have reported customer satisfaction scores that are 10 per cent higher than those who have not. The bank added that generative AI is improving internal productivity, with AI now resolving 65 per cent of customer service queries.

Zopa said the long-term aim is to move beyond providing banking products to acting as a financial partner that understands customers' goals and helps them manage their money more effectively.

In 2024, Zopa launched a five-year campaign to reskill 100,000 banking workers in AI disciplines by 2030.

The move followed research by the bank in partnership with Juniper Research which suggested that banks will invest over £1.8 billion in generative AI by 2030 to boost productivity, reduce costs, and improve customer experience.

The report predicted that deployments of AI technology will save 187 million labour hours from back-office and compliance tasks.

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