A generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot will be available to OCBC’s 30,000 employees globally in November to assist them with writing, research and ideation.

As reported by local media CNA, Singapore-based bank OCBC would introduce a generative AI chatbot based on ChatGPT for internal use of its 30,000 employees globally this November. The main function of a new tool would be to help bank staff with writing, research and ideation.

Despite being developed in collaboration with Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI, and being based on the ChatGPT large language model, OCBC’s chatbot is claimed to be hosted in a secure and controlled environment. Therefore, the information entered by OCBC staff should remain within the bank and not be available to Microsoft or any external parties.

Before the planned roll-out, OCBC reportedly conducted a six-month trial (between April and September 2023) of a service. The study involved about 1,000 OCBC staff across multiple functions e.g. investment research, product management and marketing.

During the trial, the chatbot dubbed OCBC GPT was employed in writing investment research reports, translating content in multiple languages, and drafting customer support responses.

The results of the experiment proved the tool’s efficiency. Namely, participants of the trial said they were able to complete their tasks about 50% faster than they did in a manual way. The estimated time included checking the factual accuracy of the information provided by OCBC GPT.

“We are excited to be one of the first banks in the world to deploy generative AI tools at scale. We believe that these tools have the potential to transform the way our employees work by automating a wide range of time- consuming tasks, freeing up their time to focus on more strategic and value-added work.”

Donald MacDonald, OCBC’s Head of Group Data Office

Besides launching OCBC GPT, the banking group had previously deployed several generative AI productivity tools to develop code, summarize documents, transcribe calls and create an internal knowledge base. These initiatives have estimatedly boosted productivity by 50%, enabling employees to focus on higher-value tasks.

Exploring generative AI is the latest step in OCBC’s years-long AI employment and investments. The bank uses the technology for decision-making in risk management, customer service and sales, in-app personalised recommendations and insights, analysing customer profiles and networks, and identifying suspicious communities and transactions.

Estimating the utility of AI technology for the financial industry, NCR President earlier said that banks must use AI to stay relevant to customers.