Generative AI seen as competitive advantage for Financial Services organisations
Australia’s financial services sector is estimated to gain between $5 – $13 billion annually in economic value by 2030 as a result of generative AI adoption, according to a recent study by the Tech Council of Australia and Microsoft. It’s no surprise, then, that it’s been one of the fastest moving industries, with NAB being one of the first organisations in Australia to deploy M365 Copilot. NAB is testing the technology for specific tasks and roles to see what impact generative AI could have in driving greater productivity and enabling their workforce to focus on higher value, more fulfilling tasks as part of their roles.
For Suncorp Group, building on years of experiencing in using AI in their business, their focus for the M365 Copilot trial is to continue to look at ways to save their people time and improve how they serve customers.
Suncorp Group’s Head of Data Science, AI & Insights, Craig Price said, “More broadly we see huge potential in expanding Gen AI solutions internally in a safe, secure and ethical way. As an insurer we are investigating many use cases, including how we help our customer-facing teams deliver exceptional service, including during the claims process. We see a great opportunity to improve how our people access relevant content, such as our insurance product disclosure statements, in a more intuitive way so they can support customers quickly when they need us most.”
Jeremy Hubbard, Chief Technology and Data Officer at Rest Super said, “AI continues to transform the way we work at an incredible pace; it has enormous potential to influence the future direction of Australian workplaces and the superannuation sector. Our participation in the program allows Rest and its people to be part of this evolution – building our capability in this powerful technology and empowering us to explore its potential to help Rest deliver the best possible retirement outcomes to the nearly 2 million Australians that entrust us with their super.”
Sparking bright ideas in the energy, utilities and construction sectors
Recent Capgemini research shows that 33 per cent of utility and energy companies worldwide have begun to pilot generative AI. Australia is no exception with AGL and Powerlink both being selected in the Microsoft 365 Copilot Early Access Program. Findings from the Australian Government’s Intergenerational Report 2023 suggest that sectors like energy, utilities and construction need to look at technology to help automate routine tasks and improve worker capability to drive the productivity needed for the sectors.
One of Australia’s leading energy companies, AGL, has joined the Early Access Program as part of their priority to help their workforce become more productive, while continuing to promote a culture of innovation.
AGL Head of Employee Technology, Grace Russo, said: “We are always considering new technologies that can help drive innovation within our business. AGL was one of the first companies to go into Azure when it landed in Australia, to adopt Office 365 and Microsoft Teams, and today we become one of the first companies to bring AI productivity technology to our workforce.”
AGL’s focus will initially be on users who are heavy content producers or leaders who typically have weeks filled with back-to-back and conflicting meetings.
“We have embraced flexible work models over the past few years, which has been positive on multiple fronts, however it has also meant that employees are spending more time managing chats, emails and in meetings in order to stay connected,” said Russo. “We are excited by Microsoft 365 Copilot and the huge potential it offers in helping our employees to be more efficient, productive and liberate them from the mundane to focus on higher value tasks.”
Given the rapid and significant transformation within Australia’s energy sector, Powerlink sees the opportunity for generative AI tools like M365 Copilot to help their workforce keep pace with the changes and enable greater productivity.
“Investing in our people with the technology to enable them to thrive in our dynamic sector has been core to Powerlink’s transformation over the past several years as part of our strategic partnership with Microsoft,” said Mark Pozdena, General Manager Business IT, Powerlink Queensland.
