CBA and ANZ explore conversational AI use cases

The Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking Group are among Australian banks that are actively seeking use cases for the new wave of conversational AI platforms like ChatGPT that are hitting the market.

Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched in November last year many industries, including the world's militaries, have been examining how it could potentially reshape operations.

It’s also prompted tech rivals Google and Microsoft to introduce AI platforms or variations, and to pump billions into the technology.

A CBA spokesperson told iTnews that its AI Labs research team is "actively engaging in recent advancements in generative AI, including ChatGPT and similar technologies that are emerging.”

The spokesperson added CBA has been active “in the use of machine learning with unstructured data” over the past five years, aimed at improving customers experiences “and optimising internal processes.”  

“AI is critical for what we want to do and we continually explore opportunities to empower our people, particularly for those in complex roles such as software engineers, to deliver even more personal, better experiences for our customers," CBA's spokesperson told iTnews.

“CommBank aims to become the global-leading AI bank and we continue to be committed to the ethical and responsible use of data and AI, and we take the privacy and security of our customer’s data incredibly seriously.”

In its latest banking results, CBA chief executive Matt Comyn said the bank was "investing in technology" to uplift customer protections as it reported investment spend rose two percent to $963 million. 

Not shy from AI technology, it has also partnered with no-code machine learning platform partner H2O.ai to leverage the vendor's expertise and create data science "grandmasters" at the bank, and more broadly in Australia.

ANZ Banking Group is also “actively exploring and discussing ideas on how we’ll make our bank better and stronger with this technology," its chief technology officer Tim Hogarth told iTnews.  

“AI has a range of applications in the bank – just the dramatically improved data pattern matching alone helps with fraud and mitigating cyber threats, and we know we have a significant appetite for cyber talent that is hard to fill,” Hogarth said.

“There are also many opportunities to make a range of roles significantly more efficient.”

He added that while the bank is investigating conversational AI technology, “it’s too early to speculate on use cases”.

“This technology carries huge opportunities as well as new risks, so we are definitely remaining prudent in our approach," he said.

“As we continue with a growth mindset, we need to learn about new technologies like generative AI, and we are provoking conversations on how these could be used."

Hogarth added the bank’s “number one priority” is ensuring customers and its data is secure “and we are developing guardrails and guidelines to explore this responsibly.”

ANZ has made moves this month alone in exploring AI's potential more broadly, including investing $50 million into property media and technology company View Media Group, which offers AI property technology solutions.

It’s also been an early adopter of other contemporary technology such as stablecoins which saw it complete its first transaction last year. 

Elsewhere in the banking sector, it is understood that NAB views the new AI players as showing considerable potential.

The bank already uses AI with virtual assistants, chatbots and speech recognition technology.

Westpac declined to comment on its exploration approach for conversational AI.