In banking, relationships are everything. Especially in business and commercial banking, where decisions aren’t just about rates and fees – they’re built on trust.

But here’s the catch: relationships usually mean more meetings. And while AI can absolutely help banks operate smarter, it’s not the fix for customer relationships.

What can it do? Make the human side better.

Many banks already try to improve relationship management – scripts, cheat sheets, data triggers – but those methods still rely on the old model: more meetings, more guesswork, more time.

And they’re not moving the needle.

Let’s dig into this deeper:

See how 9Lenses helps banks sell more

The Relationship Problem Banks Are Facing

Forrester says banking CX (customer experience) is sliding. Their takeaway? Most banks stay tactical, reacting to broken moments instead of solving root issues.

J.D. Power found that small businesses trust banks more when problems get solved quickly – and when their banker helps them feel financially confident. Deloitte called it out more directly: the biggest challenge ahead is sustainable growth.

• Customers still want guidance. But they won’t sit through three discovery calls to get it.
• Bankers want to deliver value. But most are early in their careers and stretched across diverse industries and product lines.

This disconnect is only getting wider.

The Goal Isn’t More Meetings. It’s Better Ones.

Business banking is a long game. These are advisory relationships, not transactional sales.

But here’s the reality: many bankers are still learning the ropes. They know how to talk about loans. But ask them to pivot into treasury, merchant services, or fraud mitigation, and that’s where it gets fuzzy.

They’ll stick to what they know. And the customer ends up hearing, “Let me loop in our expert.”

We’ve all been in that meeting. And it rarely leads to progress.

Related: How banks realize their massive revenue opportunity

How To Increase Banker Effectiveness

Here’s the shift: instead of trying to pull insights from long conversations, digital advisory tools like those on the 9Lenses platform surface them upfront.

Think of it like an MRI before the diagnosis. A structured, 7-minute scan that gives the banker clarity on pain points, inefficiencies, and opportunities – before the meeting even starts.

So instead of “Tell me about your payables process,” the conversation becomes “Here’s where we’re seeing risk and how we can help.”

It’s smarter, faster, and more useful for the banker … while adding instant value for the customer.

AI Banking Assistant Helps At Every Level

This is how you blend the knowledge of customer problems + your available solutions.

You’ve surfaced your customer’s needs and opportunities, but knowing where the pain points are isn’t enough. The banker still has to translate that data into a confident, consultative conversation.

That’s where our AI Banking Assistant comes in.

Think of it as a meeting prep coach that’s trained on your customer’s answers and your solutions. The AI assistant takes in everything we know about the customer: their goals, risks, challenges, inefficiencies, what’s working today, what they like and don’t like, etc. and combines it with what the bank already knows: the available products, internal playbooks, and how top bankers operate.

Now you have a tailored game plan that takes minutes to create.

Picture this: A banker asks the assistant “Help me prepare for this meeting” and the AI assistant gives answers to what they should prioritize, what solutions will resonate, and how to present this to align to the customer’s needs and preferences.

All with talking points that make each banker feel more confident – in a systemic way that scales to every banker.

Now, Cross-Selling Doesn’t Feel Like Selling

When banks talk about cross-sell, they’re really talking about customer value and retention. More products per customer equals stronger relationships.

But the traditional approach – “Would you meet with my card team?” – rarely resonates. It feels like a pitch, not advice.

With advisory tools, it’s different. The banker already knows where the customer has a need. Now they’re offering a relevant solution, not pushing a product.

That doesn’t just increase sales – it builds trust. And trust is the only thing that keeps customers from switching.

Human Expertise Can’t Scale. But Advisory Tools Do.

Banks don’t need more meetings, nor do they need armies of specialists chasing every account. It’s about scaling your ability to advise and build relationships that lead to trust and greater customer retention and lifetime value.

Digital tools make that possible!

They help less experienced bankers look more seasoned compress the discovery process from weeks into minutes, and they let every customer – regardless of size – get a personalized, insight-driven experience.

Without demanding a significant shift in how bankers operate today.

A Shift You Won’t Walk Back

We’re not heading toward fully digital relationships. Customers still want to know their banker and want that human-to-human foundation for their banking experience.

But they also want to know their banker understands them and provides value – fast.

That’s what 9lenses unlocks, because no banker wants to go back to fishing for pain points and no customer wants to sit through exploratory Q&A sessions to figure out the right solution.

Let us know if you’d like to see this for yourself.