NatWest partners with OpenAI to transform UK banking with AI-powered services

NatWest’s new partnership with OpenAI marks a significant milestone in the UK banking sector’s adoption of artificial intelligence for customer service and fraud prevention. The collaboration gives the British bank early access to OpenAI’s technology pipeline and specialized consulting services, positioning NatWest at the forefront of AI integration in financial services. This strategic alliance comes as banks globally seek to leverage AI to reduce operational costs, enhance customer experience, and combat the rising threat of financial fraud.

The big picture: NatWest and OpenAI have formed a first-of-its-kind partnership in the UK banking sector to enhance digital assistants and customer support through artificial intelligence.

• The collaboration gives NatWest access to all OpenAI products, early visibility into the AI firm’s development pipeline, and bespoke consultancy services.
• This partnership represents a significant step in NatWest’s broader AI strategy, which currently encompasses 275 diverse projects across the organization.

Key details: The bank is focusing on enhancing its customer-facing chatbot Cora and employee virtual assistant AskArchie with OpenAI’s technology.

• NatWest hopes to shift fraud reporting from predominantly phone-based interactions to digital channels, addressing the £570 million ($740 million) lost to payment fraud in Britain during the first half of 2024.
• The bank reports that GenAI functionality in Cora has already improved customer satisfaction levels by 150% while reducing the need for human intervention.

What they’re saying: NatWest executives emphasize that AI is central to their digital transformation and improving customer experience.

• “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,” said NatWest Group Chief Information Officer Scott Marcar.
• Retail banking CEO Angela Byrne noted that “around 80% of our retail customers bank with us entirely digitally, which is why continually innovating to deliver the best digital experience possible is a non-negotiable.”

Historical context: OpenAI was co-founded by Sam Altman and Elon Musk in 2015 with humanistic rather than profit-driven motives.

• The organization is now transitioning to a for-profit model, arguing that substantial capital is required to develop cutting-edge AI models.