Future Lab: the nonstop
bank of the future.
A year-long collaboration between Promethist and Česká spořitelna to design, build, and deploy a relational digital human that greets every visitor, controls the entire branch, and operates 24/7. The first nonstop bank branch in the Czech Republic.
“It is open non-stop and AI avatars help in it; we visited the bank of the future.”
Česká spořitelna · Erste Group
The oldest and largest bank in the Czech Republic, founded in 1825, serving over 4 million clients through 320 branches. Part of Erste Group, one of Central Europe's leading financial institutions spanning seven countries.
Their Future Lab branch on Národní třída in Prague represents the bank's boldest bet: a space where AI and human advisors work side by side, open nonstop, combining personal banking with technology that adapts to every visitor.
Build the first nonstop branch, and make it feel human.
Česká spořitelna's research showed 80% of Czechs welcome new technology, but 56% still prefer personal contact for complex financial decisions. The brief: create a flagship space that operates around the clock, where technology serves the visitor without replacing the human banker. An AI that welcomes, qualifies, and routes, then steps back the moment a human is needed.
Brand-native identity
Every pixel (avatar appearance, LED choreography, voice timbre) had to be unmistakably Česká spořitelna. No off-the-shelf look.
Total spatial control
Not just a screen in a lobby. The agent orchestrates lighting, LED walls, signage, and ambient mood across the entire branch.
Zero-friction, any language
Walk in off the street, no app, no login. The agent detects, engages, and serves in seconds, in 20+ languages, day or night.
The Promethist Engage agent greeting visitors at Česká spořitelna Future Lab, Prague
A relational digital human that owns the entire branch.
Over approximately one year, Promethist designed and deployed a fully bespoke Engage installation: custom avatar identity, conversational architecture, spatial integration, and hardware-level environmental control. The result is not a screen in a lobby. It is an intelligent presence that greets, qualifies, routes, and orchestrates the entire Future Lab visitor experience, 24 hours a day.
What the agent does, every visitor, every hour
- Greets every visitor within seconds of entry, with no queue and no ticket
- Detects spoken language and switches instantly mid-sentence
- Introduces the Future Lab space and guides visitors to the right zone
- Qualifies intent: browsing, banking need, or scheduled appointment
- Checks live banker calendars and books meetings on the spot
- Physically summons the right banker with full conversation context
- Orchestrates ambient lighting and LED content based on dialogue
- Adapts posture, eye-line, and pace for accessibility needs
- Offers QR handoff so visitors continue on mobile seamlessly
Designed for this space. Engineered for this brand.
Computer vision
Detects adults, children, wheelchair users, and visually-impaired visitors, adapting greeting, eye-line, and interaction style in real time.
Spatial audio
Multi-mic array pinpoints whether a visitor is genuinely standing in front of the kiosk. No phantom triggers, no wasted conversations.
Banker summoning
The agent reads banker calendars, selects the best match, and physically calls them to the visitor, with full context handed over before they arrive.
Space orchestration
Controls lighting, LED walls, signage, and ambient environment. The hall responds to the conversation: colour, content, and mood shift in unison.
Calendar & agenda
Real-time appointment scheduling, availability awareness, and meeting-room booking. Visitors never wait, bankers never walk in blind.
Instant language switch
Automatic detection and seamless switching between 20+ languages. Every visitor is greeted in the language they prefer, with zero configuration.
Custom personas
Male and female avatars designed from scratch for ČSAS brand identity. Visitors choose who they want to speak with, and each is fully voiced and animated.
Relational memory
Not a scripted chatbot. A relational agent with multi-turn memory, agenda awareness, and the emotional intelligence to hold nuanced conversations.
Kiosk interaction walkthrough: visitor engagement flow
A branch designed around conversation.
The Future Lab combines living green walls, immersive LED displays, smart glass meeting rooms, a wellness zone with VR physiotherapy, and interactive financial education stations, all orchestrated by the Engage agent at the centre.
From first workshop to 24/7 operation.
Discovery & spatial design
Branch ethnography, visitor journey mapping, hardware siting, LED choreography concept, and avatar identity workshops with the ČSAS brand team.
Agent & avatar build
Two fully custom personas (male & female), conversational architecture, calendar API integration, space-control protocol, and multi-language voice pipeline.
Integration & hardening
On-site hardware install, computer vision calibration, acoustic tuning, banker notification loop, security audit, and live stress testing with real foot traffic.
Launch & continuous ops
24/7 autonomous operation since day one. Continuous learning, persona updates, conversation analytics, and feature expansion as the branch evolves.
“Future Lab elevates our advisory approach through AI while enabling nonstop personal branch counseling for the first time. We believe the combination of human and digital advisory remains optimal.”
A new standard for physical banking.
Česká spořitelna now operates a branch where no visitor goes ungreeted, no intent goes unqualified, and no banker walks in blind. The model is expanding: successful innovations from Future Lab are being rolled out across 320 branches nationally and to other Erste Group markets across Central Europe.
Zero wait
Every visitor greeted within seconds. No queue, no ticket, no empty front desk, day or night.
Full context
Bankers arrive knowing why the visitor is here, what they need, and what language they speak, with no repetition.
Brand native
Every interaction (visual, verbal, spatial) is unmistakably Česká spořitelna. The agent is the brand, not a bolt-on.
Nonstop ops
The first Czech bank branch operating 24/7. AI serves outside hours, humans join during business hours seamlessly.
Scalable model
Innovations proven at Future Lab feed into 320 branches nationally and across Erste Group's seven-country network.
Research-backed
80% of Czechs welcome the tech. Future Lab experts monitor reactions on-site, feeding insights back into the product.
Build your own flagship.
From spatial concept to 24/7 deployment, we design relational digital humans that own the space, speak every language, and extend your brand into every physical touchpoint.