Nedbank today announced the introduction of innovative generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to employees to revolutionize the way they interact with information and make data-driven decisions.
Employees now have access to an AI powered assistant, Microsoft Bing Chat Enterprise, that can help with various tasks such as content generation, data analysis, document summarisation, and skill acquisition.
Nedbank’s adoption of this cutting-edge technology signifies its initial step towards providing employees with secure access to generative AI. This strategic move is designed to stimulate innovation, enhance efficiency, and accelerate learning.
Nedbank envisions that generative AI’s capabilities will enhance collaboration, decision-making, and innovation among employees.
Nedbank Chief Operating Officer, Mfundo Nkuhlu, says: ‘The integration of generative AI is expected to boost Nedbank’s productivity significantly. It will streamline our research processes, document creation and information validation. This results in considerable time savings for our daily operations and marks a significant AI milestone.”
Nedbank recognises that the implementation of generative AI requires the development of new skills and an AI mindset among its employees. The bank views this as an extension of its existing learning and development systems.
Nkuhlu elaborates: ‘Generative AI is not here to challenge our human capabilities; it’s here to empower us. It enhances our knowledge and enables us to work more intelligently and efficiently.’
Nedbank adopted this platform over other generative AI platforms because it offers a safe and integrated experience due to being built into Microsoft Edge, which is fully supported in the bank. All data is stored and processed within the Nedbank tenant and is not available to external entities, ensuring protection of sensitive data and confidential information.
Ray Naicker, Nedbank’s Chief Information Officer, highlights the tool’s unique features: ‘Unlike other AI tools, in Bing Chat Enterprise, chat data is never stored, remains inaccessible to Microsoft, and is not used for training the core models. We can safeguard Nedbank’s sensitive information and prevent any unauthorised data leakage from the organisation.’
Before introducing it to employees, Nedbank conducted pilot testing after Microsoft released Bing Chat in February this year. Nedbank found the product easy to use and realised its potential to improve efficiencies in employees’ day-to-day activities.
However, the bank waited for the release of Bing Chat Enterprise in July, which offers additional enterprise-level data and the privacy protection required by the bank.
Naicker concludes: ‘Our adoption of this technology represents a remarkable augmentation of Nedbank’s digital capabilities.’