Target Group is reporting a 40% increase in efficiency and colleague satisfaction in managing arrears cases thanks to the deployment of its new AI-powered Collections Guru agent.
Collections Guru leverages cutting-edge agentic AI to gather and interpret complex information and historic case data to simplify arrears management and guide advisers towards the most appropriate customer outcomes.
Instead of relying on multiple systems and navigating detailed SOPs (standard operating procedures), Collection Guru presents advisers with all the relevant information about the case in one place. It also provides immediate actions based on SOPs and suitable next steps for advisers to follow.
In doing so, Target is able to eliminate subjective decision making, significantly reduce handling times and minimise both adviser fatigue and compliance risk. Above all, Collections Guru means more consistent and positive outcomes for customers in arrears.
Across its debt collections and arrears management operation, Target has so far seen a 30% reduction in average handling times, a 40% reduction in toggling between different screens and a 40% reduction in dependency on subject knowledge.
Collections Guru is the latest AI integration from the digital transformation specialist and has been developed in partnership with parent company Tech Mahindra. Target Group established its first AI proof of concept with the creation of virtual assistants and chatbots to support employees with HR-related enquiries.
Since then, Target has taken its learnings and explored ways to integrate AI to support its customers – most notably through its contact centre solution, which is trusted by major institutions across financial services. Through AI and machine learning, Target is now able to summarise every customer interaction to ensure consistency, accuracy and efficiency, while also being able to monitor and score 100% of customer interactions, provide live guidance to agents and flag in real time any potential issues or even vulnerabilities.
Melanie Spencer, growth director at Target Group, said: “Rather than talking about it or pecking around the edges, Collections Guru is the latest deployment of AI technology across our business to enhance the human touch and improve our service. It is great to see tremendous results already in what is one of the most critical and sensitive parts of our operation and a key area where our lender clients look for support.
“In the current climate, all eyes will continue to be on arrears and collections management, making sure that lenders are responding consistently, providing the right support and delivering good outcomes for clients. This latest advancement means we are able to keep human expertise at the centre of this process and utilise data-driven insights to provide instant and accurate support to clients in a consistent, cost-effective and compliant way.”
Target has been operating across banking, financial services and insurance for nearly five decades, specialising in mortgage and loan originations, savings and investments, payments, collections and in-life servicing. Target works with major financial institutions as a provider of business process servicing, as well as its own proprietary software solutions. With the help of its fintech platform, Target manages assets of more than £17 billion, enabling clients to automate complex critical processing, servicing, and administration of loans and investments.
