Revolutionizing Business Operations: NatWest’s Banking AI Integration Across Multiple Functions

NatWest Group has significantly expanded the integration of artificial intelligence across various aspects of its operations, with a focus on enhancing customer service, document management within its wealth management division, and software development. As highlighted in a blog post by the chief information officer, Scott Marcar, the year 2025 marked the initial large-scale deployment of these AI systems within the organization. The primary objective behind this initiative is to boost productivity levels and foster better customer engagement.

Generative AI in Customer Service

One of the key areas where artificial intelligence has been implemented is in customer service. NatWest Group has integrated generative AI into Cora, its digital assistant, expanding the range of potential customer journeys supported by this technology from four to 21. This enhancement has resulted in faster resolution times and decreased reliance on human intervention.

Recently, 25,000 customers gained access to a new agentic financial assistant in Cora, powered by OpenAI models. This intelligent tool enables customers to inquire about recent transactions and spending patterns using natural language through the bank’s app.

The upcoming phase involves incorporating voice-to-voice capabilities that consider tone and conversational nuances. Customers will soon be able to report suspected fraud and handle related cases directly through the interface.

The impact of AI on internal customer service operations has been predominantly centered on time savings. For instance, in the bank’s retail division, automated call summaries and complaint drafting tools have collectively saved over 70,000 hours of staff time. These automated summaries of customer calls aid in formulating written responses to complaints.

Staff Access to Copilot

Marcar has ensured that all approximately 60,000 employees have access to AI tools, including Microsoft Copilot Chat and the bank’s proprietary LLM. More than half of the staff members have undergone additional training beyond the basic modules provided.

Summarising Wealth

Within NatWest’s private banking and wealth management sectors, AI technologies are leveraged to streamline document management and client records. Relationship managers utilize notes, meeting summaries, and correspondence to gain insights into clients’ circumstances. The AI systems generate concise summaries of meetings and documents, reducing the time required for review and data recording. This efficiency has led to a 30% increase in direct client face time, enabling advisers to allocate more hours to providing advice rather than administrative tasks.

AWS Cloud

The successful implementation of these AI advancements is contingent upon the modifications NatWest has made to its data infrastructure. They have restructured their data estate to create unified customer views, migrated workloads to Amazon Web Services, and streamlined certain legacy systems. The availability of data and scalable computing capacity supports the summarization tools and conversational systems utilized in customer service.

Software Development

AI deployment extends to software development, where the bank’s 12,000 engineers utilize AI-powered coding tools. Marcar reveals that AI now generates more than a third of the company’s code, assisting in drafting, reviewing, and testing software. In 2025, NatWest recruited close to 1,000 graduate software engineers in India and the UK.

Trials of agentic engineering within its financial crime units resulted in a tenfold increase in productivity. NatWest intends to expand the adoption of agentic engineering practices across the organization, aiming to expedite the development and iteration of systems.

Fraud Prevention

The bank has made substantial investments in AI-powered analytics for fraud detection and risk monitoring, designed to identify anomalous activities and promptly alert customers when potential risks are detected.

In addition to operational deployment, NatWest has established an AI research office dedicated to exploring technologies such as audiovisual conversational systems and proprietary language models. They have also formalized governance structures through an AI and Data Ethics Code of Conduct and are actively participating in the Financial Conduct Authority’s Live AI Testing program.

Conclusions

Through the integration of AI across customer service, wealth management document processing, and software development, NatWest has achieved significant time savings and productivity enhancements. The extensive deployment of AI technologies, involving tens of thousands of employees and an increasing proportion of customer interactions, indicates that AI has become an integral part of NatWest’s operational framework rather than a mere experimental feature.

(Image source: Pixabay)

Keen to delve deeper into AI and big data insights from industry experts? Explore the upcoming AI & Big Data Expo scheduled in Amsterdam, California, and London. This comprehensive event is part of TechEx and co-located with other premier technology events. Visit here for more details.

AI News is brought to you by TechForge Media. Discover a range of upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars here.