Imagine you're meeting with your bank manager. The chances are, you'll'dress up' to give a certain impression, to look like the kind of person that meets their expectations. Perhaps you put on a suit or business attire, to make sure you appear serious, as appearance could be a factor in taking your banking request into account. You fit into a mould to try to get the best response: credit, an advantageous rate, a repayment rate. You adopt a serious look on your face and perhaps even speak differently.

Orange Bank launched artificial intelligence (AI)-based customer service support for its mobile-first bank, a move the company hailed as a first in the French market. The assistant will use Orange's Djingo, a French language AI service unveiled in April 2017 and set to be rolled out across a range of the operator's other services, including as a voice control for smart home applications. Orange said Djingo would be the first point of contact for customers, with specific types of queries then referred to its customer relationship centre to be dealt with by a member of staff. It added the virtual assistant – which uses technology from IBM's Watson system – allows customers to perform functions such as blocking cards at any time. Orange Bank CEO Andre Coisne said: "Orange Bank has entered the banking market with an innovative, new offer. The virtual adviser brings our customers a unique experience allowing them to interact with their bank when and where they want."

The offer will be available in France for Orange employees from mid-May and for the general public from 6 July 2017. Customers can subscribe directly from the mobile application, online or in one of Orange's 140 certified stores. Innovative and specifically designed for mobile uses, the offer will provide customers from launch with a bank account, a debit card, overdraft protection and an interest-bearing savings account. Additional services, such as credit and insurance, will gradually be included in the offer. Right from the outset, the service will integrate a number of cutting-edge, digital and banking innovations including contactless mobile payments, sending money by SMS, instant bank balances, temporary freezing of the debit card and 24/7 access to a bank advisory service.