We’re joined today by Priya Jaiswal, a recognized authority in consumer finance and technology. In a time when rising costs and economic uncertainty are causing significant financial stress for households, her insights into how technology can empower individuals are more relevant than ever. We’ll be exploring how financial guidance is evolving to support people through every stage of life, from building credit to planning for retirement. Our conversation will touch on the practical power of AI assistants in simplifying complex financial tasks, strategies for saving money amid inflation, and the surprising ways companies are rebranding to become more like a trusted friend than a distant institution.
You mentioned supporting consumers through various life stages, from establishing credit to planning for retirement. How does Experian’s guidance specifically adapt for these different journeys? Could you share an example of a tool that uniquely helps someone buying their first home versus someone managing daily expenses?
That’s a wonderful question because it gets to the heart of our philosophy. We truly see personal finance as a lifelong journey, not a single event. For someone just starting out, our focus is on the fundamentals: establishing healthy habits and building a solid credit foundation. The tools for them are about understanding how their actions, like paying bills on time, translate into a credit score. Now, contrast that with someone preparing to buy their first home. The stakes are much higher. Their credit standing is no longer an abstract number; it’s the key to the largest purchase of their life. For them, our guidance becomes far more targeted. We help them see their detailed credit profile as a lender would, identifying specific areas for improvement to secure the best possible mortgage rate. For managing daily expenses, we offer very different, more immediate tools, like our bill negotiation service, which directly tackles the month-to-month cash flow pressures that everyone feels right now.
Your AI assistant, Eva, can already “action” requests like freezing a credit file. Can you walk us through the user experience for this process? What metrics demonstrate how this convenience is resonating with consumers, and what’s a more complex “action” you envision Eva handling soon?
The user experience is designed to be incredibly simple and intuitive, which is where its power lies. Instead of navigating through multiple screens and menus, a consumer can simply open the app and use natural language, saying something like, “Eva, I need to freeze my credit.” The assistant understands the intent and executes the command right then and there. This removes so much friction and anxiety from what can be a stressful situation. It’s that feeling of immediate control and responsiveness that we see resonating most with people. Looking ahead, the potential is enormous. Right now, Eva responds to direct commands. The next evolution is proactive assistance. Imagine a future where Eva analyzes your spending and credit data and not only provides guidance but can action it. For instance, it might identify you’re carrying a high-interest balance and say, “I’ve found a credit card with a 0% introductory APR that could save you money. With your permission, I can start the application for you.” That leap from reactive to proactive is where this technology will become truly transformative.
Given the financial stress from rising costs, you noted that Experian helps save people money through services like bill negotiation and shopping for auto insurance. Could you provide a step-by-step example of how Experian helps a user find a better auto insurance rate and the typical savings they see?
Absolutely. This is one of the most direct ways we can put money back into our members’ pockets, and it’s a process we’ve worked hard to make effortless. It begins with the user simply uploading their current auto insurance information into our app—often, they can just provide the rate they’re paying. Once that data is in our system, the heavy lifting happens behind the scenes. We continuously monitor the market for them, comparing their current rate against offers from other carriers. When we identify a policy that offers the same or better coverage for a lower price, we alert the member directly. It completely removes the tedious, time-consuming task of manually shopping for new insurance every six months. The user doesn’t have to do anything until we find them a concrete opportunity to save. It’s about saving people not just money, but also their valuable time and mental energy.
The new “Big Financial Friend” campaign repositions Experian beyond credit scores. Besides the services mentioned, what is one surprising or lesser-known feature you offer? Can you share an anecdote of how this tool has provided significant, unexpected value to a member?
The “Big Financial Friend,” or BFF, campaign is really about humanizing financial management and showing that we’re a partner for the long haul, much like a real best friend. Beyond the well-known credit monitoring, one of the most impactful but lesser-known features we offer is the ability to help members identify and cancel unwanted subscriptions. I remember one member who told us they felt like they were constantly leaking money but couldn’t figure out from where. Using the tool, they discovered they were still paying for three different streaming services they had signed up for with free trials and forgotten about, plus a recurring charge for a fitness app they no longer used. It wasn’t a huge amount each month, but it added up to hundreds of dollars a year. For them, finding and canceling those subscriptions felt like getting an unexpected raise. It’s that kind of immediate, tangible value that truly embodies the spirit of being a financial friend.
What is your forecast for the role of hyper-personalized AI in personal finance over the next five years?
My forecast is that AI will evolve from being a reactive financial tool to a proactive financial co-pilot for the average person. Today, you might ask an AI for your credit score or for guidance. In five years, your financial AI will be so deeply integrated with your transaction data, spending habits, and long-term goals that it will anticipate your needs. It will not only offer hyper-personalized guidance but, with your permission, will take action on your behalf. Imagine it automatically negotiating a better rate on your cable bill when it sees a new promotion, sweeping spare cash into a high-yield savings account at the end of the month, or flagging a purchase that’s out of sync with your savings goals. It will become less of a dashboard you check and more of an autonomous agent working in the background to constantly optimize your financial health. This will fundamentally shift the relationship people have with their finances from one of stress and management to one of confidence and automation.
