PNB MetLife, a private life insurer, has gone live with an Artificial Intelligence-powered customer service app 'Khushi', which aims to provide assistance to policyholders for their insurance-related queries.

"U (You) in Khushi means the customer and they are at the centre of whatever we do. We want them (customers) to be happy. We want them to have a meaningful interaction everytime they come in touch with us," Vijaya Nene, Director Operations and Services, PNB MetLife, told BusinessLine.

The app, now available on Android, empowers the customer and ensures customised experience for policyholders.

A policyholder can use the app to upload documents; download receipts and statements; get policy features; premium due details; get fund value and portfolio details; and update contact and KYC details.

When requested, this app can also locate the nearest PNB MetLife branch, arrange a call back from call centre representatives, fix an appointment with an advisor, among others.

Nene made it clear that Khushi is not a chatbot, but an AI-powered app, which is both text and voice-based.

"Khushi is intuitive. It actually looks at your intention. It's not chatbot kind of standard templated response – responses of Khushi are more meaningful because of machine-learning capability," she said.

"If you tell Khushi to pay your dues or to pay instalments, then Khushi understands that you are talking about premium.

In the case of chatbot, the response typically in such a situation would be, 'Cannot understand your service request'. The power of AI ensures seamless customised service," she said.