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Remember those days? The Wild West of spreadsheets. Everyone, from the intern to the CEO, had their own personal Excel masterpiece. Budgets, trackers, project plans – all meticulously crafted, often with a hidden formula that only made sense to the creator (and sometimes not even to them a week later).<h3>The Glorious Chaos of Personal Tools </h3>Excel, in its prime, was the ultimate "bottom-up" tool. Need to track your tasks? Excel. Generate a massive SQL insert script? Excel. Create the executive dashboard? Excel. The beauty was its accessibility. Anyone could jump in, hack something together, and instantly feel like a data wizard.Sales teams loved using 17 different Excel sheets to track leads. Each rep had their own, with their own unique color-coding system and a "secret" column for "gut feeling." It was brilliant for them individually, a nightmare for the sales manager trying to get a unified forecast. "Just consolidate them!" The response was always a blank stare, followed by "But mine works for me!"<h3>Enter ChatGPT: The New Kid on the Block (with a Familiar Vibe) </h3>Fast forward to today, and we're seeing a similar phenomenon with ChatGPT. Everyone's tinkering. Need a quick email follow up? ChatGPT. Brainstorming blog post ideas? ChatGPT. Analyzing reports? ChatGPTIt's empowering, right? Suddenly, you have a personal AI assistant, ready to churn out text, code, or even terrible poetry on demand. It's the ultimate "bottom-up" AI tool.<h3>The Inevitable Scaling Headache </h3>But here's where the comparison gets a bit more… Excel-like. Just as those individual spreadsheets started to buckle under the weight of team collaboration and enterprise demands, so too will our personal ChatGPT hacks.Imagine this: A marketing team, each member using their own ChatGPT prompts and methods to generate campaign copy. Some are getting amazing results, others… not so much. The brand voice is fragmented, the messaging inconsistent. The marketing director throws their hands up and says, "Can't we just have one approved AI for this?"Or consider a support team. One person uses ChatGPT for quick answers, another for empathetic replies, a third for comedic relief. While individually helpful, the lack of a standardized, scalable approach means inconsistent customer experiences and a mountain of unmaintainable, idiosyncratic AI "workflows." Add the demands of corporate policy or worse yet compliance constraints and it all falls apart pretty quickly.<h3>The Future: From Personal Hacks to Enterprise Solutions </h3>Just as we learned to embrace proper databases, CRM systems, and collaborative tools over countless individual spreadsheets, we'll need to do the same with AI. The individual experimentation with ChatGPT is invaluable – it's how we discover what works and what doesn't. But for real business impact, we need to move beyond isolated, unscalable hacks.I’ve been working in the enterprise AI space for 12 years - starting way back when we were calling it “predictive analytics!” My companies have developed platforms to become great at picking up those diamonds in the rough and creating enterprise agents. That means setting up data governance, software maintenance process, responsibility and safety controls and putting experts seamlessly in the loop to close the AI quality gap.&nbsp;We’re seeing a lot of companies who are starting to wonder why they aren’t getting the productivity juice from their AI squeeze, and a few who are ahead of the Enterprise AI Curve seeing 400%+ ROI in just a few months.If you’re in the rarified air, congratulations! You’ll likely dominate within the next 2-3 years. If you need some help getting there, reach out to me.<a data-mce-href="mailto:rona.melchor@nearlyhuman.ai" href="mailto:rona.melchor@nearlyhuman.ai" title="Schedule a Demo!" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">Would you like to see for yourself? Click here to schedule a demo!﻿</a>

ChatGPT is becoming the new Excel

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<h3>&nbsp; Customers Are Telling Us What They Want—But Few Banks Are Listening</h3>In study after study, the message is loud and clear: banking customers are frustrated.● Nearly 70% of customers say they’ve had at least one negative&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; service experience with their bank in the past year.● Over 50% say they feel like “just a number.”● 64% of customers say they would leave their bank for better service—even if it meant giving up perks or slightly better rates.Despite billions spent on automation, chatbots, and self-service tools, the experience gap is growing. Why? Because most banks have misunderstood the real issue. It’s not about speed alone—it’s about trust, feeling valued and being well taken care of.Automation Isn’t the Enemy—But It Can’t Be the Hero EitherThe AI movement in banking has largely missed the mark. By putting bots in front of customers and pushing humans to the background, many banks have unintentionally made their service feel colder, not smarter.Community banks now have a unique chance to flip that script—by doing what they’ve always done best: lead with humanity. And with the right technology working quietly in the background, that high-touch service can become even stronger.<h3>This is the Nearly Human approach:</h3>● Keep people front and center● Use AI to support, not replace● Scale service—not just efficiencyHigh Touch Meets High TechAt Nearly Human AI, we believe the future of banking belongs to institutions that can deliver the best of both worlds:✅ The empathy and connection of a community banker✅ The speed and precision of modern AIOur platform works behind the scenes to learn from every interaction—allowing your bankers to know more, respond faster, and serve better. The result? A better experience for the customer and a more empowered team.<h3>The Hidden Cost of the Status Quo</h3>Community banks that delay action face growing risks—not just to customer satisfaction, but to long-term viability. Ignoring this shift can come at a steep cost:● Loss of customer trust and loyalty as expectations continue to rise● Increased churn to fintechs and digital-first competitors● Higher operational costs from inefficient, manual processes● Staff burnout due to overwhelming workloads and repetitive requests●&nbsp; Reputational damage from poor reviews and customer complaints● Costly compliance errors and increased regulatory scrutiny<h3>The Win for Customers</h3>A human-first, AI-supported model doesn’t just fix frustrations—it transforms the entire banking experience. Here’s what customers stand to gain:● Complex issues solved the first time—without the wait● Empathetic interactions, even during stressful financial situations● Consistent and proactive communication tailored to their needs● Human interaction<h3>The Win for the Bank</h3>And the benefits for community banks are just as compelling. Adopting a human-first, AI-supported approach delivers:● Stronger customer loyalty and higher retention● Reduced compliance costs● Increased cross-sell and up-sell opportunities through smarter engagement● Improved employee satisfaction by automating repetitive tasks● A modernized brand reputation as a tech-forward, human-first institution<h3>Use Cases That Matter</h3>The possibilities for community banks are enormous. Here are just a few areas where a human-first, AI-enabled strategy is already showing results:● Proactively supporting customers facing financial stress● Freeing bankers from low-value tasks so they can focus on real conversations● Turning routine customer service into loyalty-building moments<h3>The Bottom Line</h3>You don’t need to be a megabank with a billion-dollar tech budget to innovate.You just need to choose a different path—one that values people over process, relationships over tickets.Nearly Human AI is a human-first, AI-enabled customer experience platform built for community banks. We help you deliver warmth, empathy, and intelligence at scale—without losing your personal touch.<a title="Schedule a Demo!" href="mailto:rona.melchor@nearlyhuman.ai" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="mailto:rona.melchor@nearlyhuman.ai">Would you like to see for yourself? Click here to schedule a demo!</a>

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ChatGPT is becoming the new Excel

Why Banking Customers Are Still Complaining—and How a Hum...