US brokerage firm TD Ameritrade has launched a Facebook Messenger chatbot to give customers a way to access the markets and their investments wherever they are.

The chatbot uses AI and machine learning to respond to natural language messages from its customers on Facebook’s messaging platform. It is supported by a human client service, which is alerted when the bot can’t figure out a response to a question, or should the user decide to proactively connect with an actual person.

“Consumers are interacting with companies in more ways than ever before, and it is incumbent upon us to constantly strive to meet and exceed our clients’ expectations in new ways,” said Vijay Sankaran, CIO for TD Ameritrade.

“Our goal is to use the power of technology to make finance more personal. When it comes to something as personal as money, people often have complex questions that only a human can answer. But, they also have lots of questions about simpler things, like where to find an IRA statement or how to reset a password, and AI gives an intelligent assistant that can answer those things anytime, anywhere.

“This allows our employees to focus on the human element, while our technology can make the simpler things just that – simple.”

The Messenger chatbot is powered by the same engine the company used for its Amazon Alexa skill, which it launched last year and hopes to add additional features to over time. In addition, TD Ameritrade plans to add basic trading features and more to its Messenger bot.