Generative AI is seen as a competitive advantage for financial services organizations
According to a recent study by the Tech Council of Australia and Microsoft, generative AI adoption is estimated to add $5 – $13 billion in economic value annually to Australia’s financial services sector by 2030. It’s no surprise, then, that NAB is one of the first organizations in Australia to deploy the M365 Copilot, one of the fastest in the industry. NAB is testing the technology for specific tasks and roles to see what impact generative AI can 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, with years of experience using AI in their business, their focus for the M365 Copilot trial is to save their people time and improve the way they serve customers.
“More broadly we see tremendous potential to expand Gen AI solutions in a safe, secure and ethical way,” said Craig Price, Suncorp Group Head of Data Science, AI and Insights. As an insurer we are investigating many use cases during the claims process, including how we help our customer-facing teams deliver exceptional service. 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 provide immediate support to customers 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 unprecedented pace; It has enormous potential to influence the future direction of Australian workplaces and the retirement sector. Our participation in the program allows Rest and its people to be part of this evolution – building our capabilities in this powerful technology and enabling us to help Rest deliver the best possible retirement outcomes to the nearly 2 million Australians entrusted to us. Their super.”
Emergence of bright ideas in energy, utilities and construction sectors
Recent Capgemini research shows that 33 percent of utility and energy companies worldwide have begun using generative AI. Australia is no exception, with both AGL and Powerlink selected into the Microsoft 365 Copilot Early Access Program. Findings from the Australian Government’s Intergenerational Report 2023 suggest that sectors such as energy, utilities and construction need to look to technology to help automate routine tasks and improve workforce capabilities to drive the productivity the sectors need.
One of Australia’s leading energy companies, AGL, has joined the Early Access Program to promote a culture of innovation, as part of their priority to help their workforce be more productive.
AGL Head of Employee Technology, Grace Russo, said: “We are always looking for new technologies that can help innovate our business. AGL was one of the first companies to move to Azure, adopt Office 365 and Microsoft Teams when it arrived in Australia, and today we are one of the first companies to bring AI productivity technology to our workforce.”
AGL will initially focus on users who are heavy content creators or leaders whose weeks are typically filled with back-and-forth and conflicting meetings.
“We’ve embraced flexible work models over the years, which has been positive on many fronts, however it means employees are spending more time managing chats, emails and meetings to stay connected,” Russo said. “We’re excited about Microsoft 365 Copilot and the tremendous potential it offers to help our employees be more efficient, productive, and free them from the mundane to focus on high-value tasks.”
Given the rapid and significant transformation of Australia’s energy sector, Powerlink sees the opportunity for generative AI tools like M365 Copilot to help their workforce keep pace with change and enable greater productivity.
PowerLink Queensland General Manager Business IT Mark Pozdena said, “Investing in our people with technology to thrive in our dynamic sector has been a key part of PowerLink’s transformation over the years.