Artificial intelligence: integrating and setting standards

These issues are increasingly relevant as organisations grapple with the arrival of generative artificial intelligence. Its rapid development and adoption have raised questions over how it will transform our workforce and our workplaces.

"We are focusing its use to improve how we serve and protect our customers, process work more efficiently and to help us comply with regulatory standards."

Billions of dollars have been invested into the broader category of Artificial Intelligence by the world’s biggest tech companies and McKinsey & Co. estimates more than $4 trillion in value will be unlocked using generative AI.

While it is early days and the technology is far from perfect, it is clear there are a range of use cases where the technology is already good enough and things will only improve from here.

At ANZ, we are embracing this new technology thoughtfully, not resisting it. We are well progressed on our AI journey and have a keen focus on applying this technology to help people and communities thrive. 

While AI is being deployed across many different areas of our business, we are focusing its use to improve how we serve and protect our customers, process work more efficiently and to help us comply with regulatory standards.

It is expected there will be a range of technologies that will contribute to better business outcomes. Some of these solutions will be provided by our strategic partners and other solutions will be built by ANZ.

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An example of our partner-based solutions is work we are doing based upon Microsoft’s generative AI technologies – including Copilot for Microsoft 365 and GitHub Copilot – to boost productivity, innovation and customer service.

ANZ has deployed Github Copilot to 3,000 of our software developers and engineers to assist with generating code. Early tests measured engineers completing some programming tasks 40 per cent to 55 per cent faster, leading to big increases in the amount of code produced and the quality of that code. 

After piloting Copilot for Microsoft 365 to a subset of employees in November, ANZ became the first Australian bank to purchase 3,000 licences.

Compare and contrast

Another example of AI at ANZ is the integration of our recent acquisition of Suncorp Bank. The transaction was completed at the start of August and we are using AI to help integrate Suncorp Bank and ANZ policies and procedure by reducing the time to compare, contrast and harmonize thousands of documents, terms, conditions and contracts.

This is accelerating and de-risking the integration, completing the process much faster than we could manually.

We’re using AI to help spot signs of financial stress – even before the customers themselves are aware. We’ve developed a world-first AI transaction scoring capability for retail and small business customers.

Using this method to scan customers transactions and financial data, we can identify customers at risk of distress about 40 days earlier and then proactively reach out to assist them.

We’re also using AI to make high-value transactions even more secure. Within our ANZ Plus digital banking platform, we use AI to match a customer’s face to their identity, making their banking safer.

AI is helping us to combat fraud and detect advanced threats – including when a fraudster tries to access an account or when criminals try to launder money. Our well-known “Falcon" fraud-detection system is fuelled by AI.

AI is also being used to summarise and query complex financial documents – extracting critical information fast.

A new banking and finance regulation is released somewhere in the world every 10 minutes. AI is helping us ensure we meet our obligations and that we are working more effectively with regulators across the 29 countries in which ANZ operates.

Given the level of organisational change generative AI will bring, it is essential that leaders are role models through the change. We’re educating our leaders, assisted by the new AI Immersion Centre at Docklands, which we’ve built in partnership with Microsoft.

The facility, a first for the banking sector in Australia and New Zealand, is designed to accelerate AI adoption by ANZ leaders so they can support widespread adoption of the tools and innovation across the organisation. We plan to create similar facilities in other ANZ locations soon too.

As we continue to embrace generative AI, we remain fully committed to security alongside the innovation and technological advancement.

We are leading the way in integrating generative AI into our ways of working and setting new standards for the banking industry.

ANZ is not just adapting for the future; we are actively shaping it with every step we take with generative AI technology.

Gerard Florian is Group Executive Technology at ANZ.