NatWest Partners with OpenAI to Accelerate Digital Transformation
NatWest Group has announced a partnership with OpenAI, the first UK bank to partner with the top AI firm. The alliance comes as NatWest pursues its ambition to simplify its operations throughout the bank to provide quicker and more effective customer service and improve overall productivity and efficiency. Under the partnership, NatWest will have access to OpenAI's state-of-the-art generative AI technology and expertise with strong data privacy protections in place.
Improving Customer Experience with AI
The alliance takes advantage of the success of NatWest's existing AI virtual assistants, Cora+ and AskArchie+, and aims to take this further to benefit customer experiences. The bank will introduce AI-facilitated tools to aid customers in the management of advanced tasks such as detection, reporting, and closing scams and fraud. NatWest is also exploring the application of AI in allowing customers to see insights about their financial conditions and set long-term objectives.
Co-operation with OpenAI will also benefit NatWest's staff in areas beyond increasing customer-facing services. The collaboration builds on the success of NatWest's existing AI virtual assistants, such as Cora+ and AskArchie+, and aims to extend such capabilities even further to improve customer experiences.
The bank will introduce AI-enabled tools to help customers handle complicated tasks such as detecting, reporting, and shutting down scams and fraud. The partnership comes on the heels of NatWest's push to centralize its operations bank-wide to provide faster and more effective customer service and overall greater productivity and efficiency. Under the alliance, NatWest will be able to tap into OpenAI's leading-edge generative AI capabilities and expertise with stringent data privacy protections in place.
The bank is also building advanced AI capabilities to assist employees in work such as anti-fraud measures and complaint handling in retail, commercial, and wealth management departments. These additions are meant to enable employees to serve customers in a more customized and effective way.
Scott Marcar, NatWest Group's Chief Information Officer, said, "AI is already playing a vital role in our digital transformation; helping colleagues across the bank to serve customers in a more personalised and productive way. We now have the potential to accelerate this even further by accessing OpenAI’s newest technologies and expertise. As we adapt to advances in technology , we will continue to do so in the safest and most responsible way, prioritising our customers and colleagues every step of the way.”
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AI-Driven Results: Improved Customer Satisfaction
The partnership is already yielding positive outcomes. NatWest has successfully launched over 275 AI projects, with around 25 use cases now in production. AI-driven tools, like Cora+, have led to a 150% increase in customer satisfaction while reducing the need for colleague intervention. These results highlight the significant potential of AI to streamline operations and improve service delivery.
