Gökhan Gökçay, executive VP of Technology at Akbank, explains how his bank—named the World’s Best Consumer AI Bank—uses AI and partnerships to tailor service and secure data.
Global Finance: What impact has Akbank’s AI-powered digital assistant had on customer loyalty, and how does it contribute to your 96% digital migration rate for sales?
Gökhan Gökçay: Akbank Assistant has become a cornerstone of our customer engagement strategy by delivering fast, personalized, and seamless banking experiences across all channels. By enabling customers to complete more than 200 types of transactions autonomously and resolving 250,000 monthly support sessions through the “Help Me” module, it has significantly enhanced convenience and satisfaction.
The Assistant’s proactive and context-aware guidance, combined with human-like voice interaction, has fostered stronger emotional connections and loyalty. This trust and ease of use have been key drivers in Akbank’s remarkable 96% migration rate of transactions, including sales and inquiries, to digital channels.
Moreover, the Assistant’s recommendation engine, powered by advanced analytics and large language models, has increased product conversion rates from 2% to 18%, demonstrating that intelligent personalization directly translates into customer engagement and business growth. Customers now engage with our digital platforms over 700 million times daily, reflecting a deep behavioral shift toward mobile-first, AI-supported banking.
GF: Akbank uses AI to provide “Banking IQ” insights to customers, such as cash flow analysis and spending patterns. How do these insights directly translate into better financial habits for your customers, and what is your approach to turning these insights into proactive, personalized product recommendations?
Gökçay: Through AI-powered “Banking IQ” insights, Akbank analyzes customer cash flow, spending patterns, and savings behavior to provide meaningful, actionable financial guidance. These insights empower customers to make smarter financial decisions, such as optimizing savings, avoiding overdrafts, or rebalancing investments, based on real-time data.
The same infrastructure supports our agentic recommendation engine, enabling customers to better understand their financial habits, stay in control of their goals, and develop long-term financial wellness, turning data into trusted everyday advice that drives healthier financial behavior.
GF: Given your use of AI to create hyper-personalized customer experiences, how do you balance the drive for personalization with customer data privacy concerns, and what specific measures are in place to ensure compliance and maintain customer trust?
Gökçay: At Akbank, personalization is built on trust, transparency, and ethical responsibility. All AI systems are designed in full compliance with Turkey’s banking and data protection regulations. In 2025, we introduced the Akbank Responsible AI Manifesto, publicly affirming our commitment to ethical and responsible AI. The manifesto defines a set of nonnegotiable principles—fairness, transparency, accountability, inclusiveness, and data privacy—that guide every stage of our AI lifecycle, from model design to deployment.
Our dedicated AI governance framework continuously monitors model behavior, bias, and data use, while regular audits ensure compliance with both regulatory and ethical standards. By embedding these principles into our technology, we ensure that personalization always empowers customers, strengthens trust, and reinforces our long-term human-centered AI vision.
GF: Can you describe how Akbank LAB collaborations with fintechs and tech companies accelerate AI innovation, and what role these external partnerships play in Akbank’s overall long-term AI strategy?
Gökçay: Akbank LAB acts as the innovation bridge connecting our bank’s internal R&D ecosystem with fintechs, startups and global technology pioneers. Established in 2016, Akbank LAB has become one of the world’s leading financial innovation centers, recognized as part of Global Finance’s Innovators 2025 list.
Collaborations with companies like Personetics and Jasper accelerate the development of advanced personalization, conversational intelligence, and generative AI capabilities. However, Akbank’s open innovation approach goes beyond specific partnerships. We value every collaboration that enhances or personalizes our customers’ experience. We believe in the power of the ecosystem where shared innovation drives transformation and progress across the financial landscape.
