Russia’s Banks and Marketplaces Use AI to Slash Customer Support Costs

Virtual agents now handle billions of routine inquiries — freeing up human staff and saving the industry billions of rubles.

Artificial intelligence is transforming customer service across Russia’s financial sector. Banks and e-commerce platforms are increasingly relying on AI-powered systems to process high volumes of client requests, significantly reducing the need for human support.

The main benefit: automation of routine inquiries. These systems allow human specialists to focus on complex, high-stakes cases that require a personal touch — while intelligent bots deal with everything else.

The savings are massive. One of Russia’s largest banks reported saving roughly 3.5 billion rubles ($40 million) annually by automating customer support. Another institution cited savings of up to 10 billion rubles. The gains come from higher automation rates and reduced operator workload.

Online marketplaces are also reporting billion-ruble efficiencies. Experts note that the scale of their user databases now rivals that of traditional banks — a trend that’s expected to grow alongside increasing transaction volumes. Some marketplaces even nudge users toward specific payment methods by offering personalized discounts depending on the bank selected at checkout.