BILL says AI agents cut underwriting case time from three hours to about 12 minutes
For the chief credit officer at a small-business lender
BILL CEO and Founder René Lacerte said on Thursday, Nov. 5, during the company's first quarter fiscal year 2027 earnings call that a suite of three AI agents called Robin cut case and customer wait time to about 12 minutes from three hours.1
Robin sends each case to the right underwriter, pulls the customer's data into a summary and provides a one-click link to make a decision, according to PYMNTS' account of the call.1 This replaces a process in which an underwriter had to piece each case together through chat messages, email and separate dashboards.1
Lacerte said BILL's risk team has built more than 100 AI agents over the past year that perform work 24/7 across several functions, and that they complete defined tasks such as pulling case files, drafting credit assessments or writing model documentation.1
Lacerte said the agents save BILL's teams more than 1,400 hours per month, equivalent to about eight full-time employees.1
The figures are Lacerte's statements on the call as reported by PYMNTS; the report does not say how BILL measured them, and the source is coverage of the call rather than a transcript.1
Lacerte also said Chat with BILL now handles 45% of customer support conversations, and that BILL launched five products during the quarter and built a Visa pilot in four weeks.1
The reported gain comes from automating file assembly and routing, with a person still making the decision through the one-click link, so the model is a workflow change rather than automated credit judgment. Banks weighing similar tools should note that the same agent set includes drafting credit assessments and writing model documentation, and the source gives no detail on how those outputs are reviewed.
Our take. BILL's underwriters now finish a case in 12 minutes instead of three hours, and some of the same risk team's agents write model documentation. Your examiners will ask who checked the paperwork that checks the machines.
Action. Model risk: Require named human authorship and independent review for any model documentation or validation material drafted by AI tools.
From our records
- Visafintech · company Card network, founded 1958, United States · bank partners Barclays US, DBS, BBVA