# Bank of America: Virtual assistant

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/bank-of-america/virtual-assistant
Last updated: Oct 16, 2026

*Part of the [Bank of America AI strategy profile](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/bank-of-america).*

## What is Erica, Bank of America's virtual assistant, and how big is it?

Erica is Bank of America's AI-driven virtual financial assistant, launched in June 2018. It passed 2 million users in July 2018 and 10 million by December 2019, added Merrill in August 2020, and reached 1 billion interactions by October 2022 (nearly 32 million clients, about 1.5 million a day), 2 billion by April 2024 and 3 billion by August 2025; the bank's Fast Facts page now counts more than 3.6 billion interactions, 1.9 billion of them proactive insights, more than 24.6 million clients helped and more than 200 million interactions a quarter. In January 2026 the bank said Erica handled 2 million interactions a day, the work of 11,000 people. The same technology runs Erica for Employees (adopted by 97% of staff since 2020), EricaAssist for about 18,000 service representatives, given generative AI in July 2026, CashPro Chat for corporate clients and BankerAssist. Erica was built in-house on open-source language models such as BERT and OpenNLP and rebuilt as a second-generation, model-agnostic platform in 2025. The CFPB's 2023 chatbot spotlight cites Erica as a bank-built chatbot trained on customer conversations. ([Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2022/10/bank-of-america-s-erica-tops-1-billion-client-interactions--now-.html), [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2024/04/bofa-s-erica-surpasses-2-billion-interactions--helping-42-millio.html), [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2025/08/a-decade-of-ai-innovation--bofa-s-virtual-assistant-erica-surpas.html), [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/company-overview/bank-of-america-fast-facts.html), [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/how-bank-of-americas-erica-does-the-work-of-11-000-people), [Banking Dive](https://bankingdive.com/news/bank-of-america-generative-ai-erica-assist-customer-service/825839), [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2026/07/bank-of-america-enhances-ericaassist-with-generative-ai-to-help-.html), [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/03/17/inside-bank-of-americas-build-once-ai-strategy), [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-issue-spotlight-analyzes-artificial-intelligence-chatbots-in-banking/))

## How has Erica grown since launch?

Usage figures as the bank published them at each date.

| Date | Milestone | Detail | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| June 2018 | Launch | Passed 2 million users in July 2018 and 4 million in November 2018; proactive insights launched October 2018 | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2022/10/bank-of-america-s-erica-tops-1-billion-client-interactions--now-.html) |
| 2019-2021 | 10 million users (December 2019) | 50 million client requests by May 2019; 60,000 coronavirus-related terms learned (March 2020); Merrill integration (August 2020); 430 million interactions and 21 million clients (August 2021) | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2022/10/bank-of-america-s-erica-tops-1-billion-client-interactions--now-.html) |
| October 12, 2022 | 1 billion interactions | Nearly 32 million clients; nearly 1.5 million interactions a day; 98% of clients get the answers they need; Mobile Servicing Chat by Erica launched September 2022 | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2022/10/bank-of-america-s-erica-tops-1-billion-client-interactions--now-.html) |
| April 8, 2024 | 2 billion interactions | 42 million clients; 800 million inquiries answered and 1.2 billion insights; answers within 44 seconds on average | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2024/04/bofa-s-erica-surpasses-2-billion-interactions--helping-42-millio.html) |
| February 24, 2025 | 2.5 billion interactions | 676 million interactions in 2024 | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2025/02/digital-interactions-by-bofa-clients-surge-to-over-26-billion--u.html) |
| August 2025 | 3 billion interactions | Nearly 50 million users since launch; more than 58 million interactions a month; 18.7 million hours of conversation | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2025/08/a-decade-of-ai-innovation--bofa-s-virtual-assistant-erica-surpas.html) |
| January 22, 2026 | 2 million interactions a day | 20 million regular users; the work of 11,000 people | [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/how-bank-of-americas-erica-does-the-work-of-11-000-people) |
| March 10, 2026 | Nearly 700 million interactions in 2025 | 20.6 million users; cumulative 3.2 billion | [Bank of America (PR Newswire)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bofa-ai-and-digital-innovations-fuel-30-billion-client-interactions-302709493.html) |
| Retrieved October 2026 | 3.6 billion interactions | More than 24.6 million clients helped; 1.9 billion proactive insights; more than 200 million interactions a quarter | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/company-overview/bank-of-america-fast-facts.html), [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/10/01/ai-regulated-industries-bank-of-america-sp-global) |

## Which assistants are built on Erica's technology?

| Assistant | Users | What it does | Scale or date | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Erica (consumer) | Clients in the mobile app | Transactions, insights, money movement, subscriptions, refunds, connection to specialists | 24.6 million-plus clients helped | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/company-overview/bank-of-america-fast-facts.html), [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2024/04/bofa-s-erica-surpasses-2-billion-interactions--helping-42-millio.html) |
| Erica for Employees | Bank staff | Employee assistant; cut service-desk calls by about half | 97% of employees since 2020 | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/company-overview/bank-of-america-fast-facts.html), [Bank of America (SEC filings)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/70858/000007085825000254/bac063025ex992.htm) |
| EricaAssist | About 18,000 customer service representatives | Desktop widget; generative-AI additions summarize why a client is calling and recommend next steps; average call time down almost a minute | Generative AI added July 21, 2026 | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2026/07/bank-of-america-enhances-ericaassist-with-generative-ai-to-help-.html), [Banking Dive](https://bankingdive.com/news/bank-of-america-generative-ai-erica-assist-customer-service/825839) |
| CashPro Chat with Erica | Corporate and commercial clients | Account information, transaction tracking, service resolution | 45% of CashPro clients use it or Forecasting; 43% containment in Q3 2025 | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/company-overview/bank-of-america-fast-facts.html), [Bank of America (PR Newswire)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bofas-ai-driven-cashpro-chat-and-transaction-search-capabilities-reach-record-usage-by-corporate-clients-302593672.html) |
| BankerAssist | Bankers serving business clients | Identifies opportunities, manages exposure, brings real-time data to client conversations | Launched October 2020 | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2022/10/bank-of-america-s-erica-tops-1-billion-client-interactions--now-.html) |
| ask MERRILL and ask Private Bank | Wealth clients | Virtual assistant interactions in the wealth apps | Over 23 million a year | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/company-overview/bank-of-america-fast-facts.html) |

## What technology is Erica built on, and how is it overseen?

Erica is a bank-built system. Fortune reports the first generation started on open-source language models such as BERT and OpenNLP; after an AI council found teams 'reinventing the wheel' across about 15 proofs of concept, the bank rebuilt Erica in 2025 as a second-generation, model-agnostic platform for reuse across businesses. The 2022 launch-anniversary release described it as combining artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and natural language. ([Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/03/17/inside-bank-of-americas-build-once-ai-strategy), [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2022/10/bank-of-america-s-erica-tops-1-billion-client-interactions--now-.html))

Regulators have noticed it by name: the CFPB's June 2023 issue spotlight on bank chatbots cites Bank of America's Erica, with Capital One's Eno, as a chatbot built by training algorithms on real customer conversations and chat logs, and estimated that about 37% of the US population interacted with a bank chatbot in 2022. ([Consumer Financial Protection Bureau](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-issue-spotlight-analyzes-artificial-intelligence-chatbots-in-banking/))

Not on the record: which models power the generative features added to EricaAssist in 2026, error or escalation rates beyond the bank's 98% answer rate, or a date for a generative-AI consumer version of Erica. ([Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2026/07/bank-of-america-enhances-ericaassist-with-generative-ai-to-help-.html), [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2024/04/bofa-s-erica-surpasses-2-billion-interactions--helping-42-millio.html))

## What does the BofA profile record on this topic?

| Date | Move | Detail | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sep 29, 2026 | Fortune AIQ 75 places the bank 19th; EricaAssist at 18,000 service staff | Fortune ranks the bank 19th behind JPMorgan Chase (1st) and BNY (15th) among US banks listed and reports EricaAssist deployed to more than 18,000 customer service representatives this summer. | [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/09/29/how-banks-are-using-ai-agents-copilots-roi/) |
| Jul 21, 2026 | EricaAssist gets generative AI | Employee-facing agent summarises the call reason and recommends next steps; average call time falls by nearly a minute. | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2026/07/bank-of-america-enhances-ericaassist-with-generative-ai-to-help-.html) |
| Mar 10, 2026 | 30 billion digital client interactions in 2025 | 20.6 million users interacted with Erica nearly 700 million times in 2025; cumulative Erica interactions passed 3.2 billion. | [Bank of America (PR Newswire)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bofa-ai-and-digital-innovations-fuel-30-billion-client-interactions-302709493.html) |
| Oct 27, 2025 | CashPro Chat usage at a record | Client use of the AI-driven chat up 21% year on year, with nearly 70% of corporate clients using it; 43% containment rate in Q3 2025. | [Bank of America (PR Newswire)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bofas-ai-driven-cashpro-chat-and-transaction-search-capabilities-reach-record-usage-by-corporate-clients-302593672.html) |
| Aug 1, 2025 | Erica passes 3 billion interactions | Nearly 50 million users since launch; more than 58 million interactions a month. | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2025/08/a-decade-of-ai-innovation--bofa-s-virtual-assistant-erica-surpas.html) |
| Jun 1, 2018 | Erica launches | The AI-driven virtual financial assistant that the bank calls a central gateway to serving clients. | [Bank of America Newsroom](https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2025/08/a-decade-of-ai-innovation--bofa-s-virtual-assistant-erica-surpas.html) |

## Common questions

### When did Bank of America launch Erica?

Erica launched in June 2018, per the bank's own timeline, which it calls the first widely available AI-driven virtual financial assistant. It passed 2 million users in July 2018, 10 million by December 2019 and 1 billion interactions in October 2022.

### How many people use Erica?

The bank's Fast Facts page says Erica has helped more than 24.6 million clients and passed 3.6 billion interactions since 2018, with more than 200 million interactions a quarter. In January 2026 the bank put it at 20 million regular users and 2 million interactions a day, which it says is the work of 11,000 people.

### What is EricaAssist?

EricaAssist is the employee-facing version of Erica used by about 18,000 Bank of America customer service representatives. In July 2026 the bank added generative AI so it summarizes why a client is calling and recommends next steps, and says average call time fell by almost a minute.

### Is Erica a generative AI chatbot?

Erica began on open-source natural-language models such as BERT and OpenNLP and was rebuilt in 2025 as a second-generation, model-agnostic platform. The bank has added generative AI to employee tools such as EricaAssist; it has not described consumer Erica as a generative chatbot.

### Do regulators look at Erica?

Yes. The CFPB's June 2023 issue spotlight on chatbots in banking names Bank of America's Erica as an in-house chatbot trained on real customer conversations and chat logs, in a report that set out consumer-protection risks of bank chatbots.
## Deeper on BofA

- [What is Bank of America's AI strategy and technology vision?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/bank-of-america/ai-strategy)
- [What AI research, patents and partnerships does Bank of America have?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/bank-of-america/ai-research-patents-partnerships)
- [What technology stack does Bank of America run its AI on?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/bank-of-america/technology-stack)
- [How does Bank of America govern responsible AI?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/bank-of-america/responsible-ai)


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