Nationwide has reported positive results from its collaboration with Microsoft on Generative AI, leading the building society to explore new expansion efforts to maximise its impact.
A key focus has been improving customer support, where Generative AI is already driving significant improvements. By using GPT-4 through Azure OpenAI to assist in drafting customer letters, response times have been reduced from 45 minutes to 10-15 minutes – an improvement of approximately 66%.
The bank has stressed that this time saved doesn’t just enhance letter writing but frees backroom staff to handle more complex cases, benefiting both the organisation and its customers.
Srinath Kanisapakkam, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Nationwide, remarked: “Generative AI offers incredible potential to improve how organisations serve customers while improving the employee experience, too. I’m delighted by the impact of our first Generative AI solution with Microsoft, not to mention the speed with which we’ve been able to implement it.”
Nationwide credits the rapid implementation to its use of Microsoft Azure for consolidating and centralising its data estate, ensuring access for staff. This centralisation was enhanced using Azure Databricks – a unified, open data analytics platform – and Teradata’s VantageCloud for analysing and managing the data.
Paul Ballard, Technology Strategy and Enterprise Architecture Director, stated: “Generative AI will enable us to offer more tailored digital propositions, improve service, and optimise decision-making, risk management and operational efficiency.
“Whether it’s in customer service or elsewhere, AI gives us an opportunity to evolve not only what we do, but also how we do it. That, in turn, can help us create more connected and engaging experiences for Nationwide members and colleagues.”
Acknowledging concerns about AI potentially replacing jobs, Ballard reassured employees that AI at Nationwide is designed to “maximise their impact”, rather than replace them. He also emphasised the importance of human oversight, adding: “Our mantra is ‘Copilot, not autopilot.’”
Nationwide’s increasing use of AI mirrors that of companies across the UK. Last week, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the technology as a “unique chance” to grow the economy and raise living standards.
Starmer shared this statement during a public address, where he detailed the government’s approach to AI regulation. He said: “Put simply, our message to those at the frontier of AI capabilities is this, we want to be the best state partner for you anywhere in the world. That is the measure of our ambition.”
