The Microsoft chat platform helping Bankwest maintain a human connection as a digital bank
Bankwest is reimagining digital banking customer service through an AI-powered Microsoft chat platform, enabling meaningful human connection at scale while meeting rapidly evolving customer expectations.
Key Highlights
- Bankwest’s deployment of Microsoft chat tool enables human connection in a digital channel
- The innovative collaboration helps colleagues build customer trust with efficient AI support
- AI familiarity equips colleagues with new skills, opening potential future career pathways
Customer preferences for digital banking
Responding to evolving banking preferences, Bankwest made the unique decision to transform from a traditional bank with branches, to a digital bank invested in a world class chat experience.
Chat was becoming an increasingly relevant channel for customers and Bankwest went from serving around 1 in 4 customers (27.3%) via digital chats in March 2024, to around 60% today.
The transition required a major reconfiguration of the bank’s customer service model to provide meaningful support in a 24/7 digital channel, especially to those experiencing vulnerability.
How Microsoft’s AI-powered platform is transforming customer service at Bankwest
Bankwest worked with Microsoft to design and develop a chat experience that enabled colleagues to solve enquiries with greater personalisation, accuracy and speed, while maintaining human-centred considerations.
Built with AI-supported technology as part of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Centre, it transfers the conversation with full context and an AI generated summary to a Bankwest colleague.
It can analyse live chats, feed real-time suggestions and gauge how a customer may be feeling based on their choice of language, and track this for colleagues so they can efficiently solve queries with empathy.
Colleagues can select from relevant pre-written responses to get the chat moving faster, which provides a consistent customer experience and valuable support for newer members of the team.
The platform’s AI also recognises and provides real time masking of sensitive information including tax file numbers and credit card details in the chat feed.
Importantly, Bankwest’s Community Assistance teams have recently joined the chat channel, opening a crucial line of communication in moments of real human need.
Comments attributable to Bankwest Chief Digital Officer Eleanor Bensley:
“For customers like those unfortunately facing vulnerable circumstances, such as victim survivors of family and domestic violence, chatting online allows them to communicate with us privately and discreetly for the right support.
“Simple and clear communication is important, and the AI-powered features of Microsoft Copilot have helped colleagues respond to customer enquiries more efficiently, in simple conversations, free from banking jargon.
“Bankwest invested significantly in training, so our teams were able to handle more customer enquiries end-to-end to help customers feel calm, confident and in control of their banking.
“It’s reassuring to see colleagues responding positively to the opportunity to become familiar with cutting-edge AI tools, helping them develop future-ready skills and open new career possibilities.
“The innovative Microsoft tool was developed with significant input from Bankwest’s primarily WA-based workforce, with weekly check-ins with Microsoft’s team in the United States.
“The next step will be to drive smarter, more personalised support, with the AI tool matching individual enquiries with the relevant policies and processes and instantly recommending the appropriate customer response to colleagues."
About Bankwest
Bankwest’s ambition is to be Australia’s favourite digital bank. Bankwest provides great value home lending and secure, easy, and effortless personal and everyday banking solutions for customers across Australia. We support customers in doing their banking in the ways that suit them, with innovative digital solutions, an Australia-based 24/7 Customer Engagement Centre, and a passionate broker community. Bankwest is a division of Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL/Australian credit license 234945.
Contact us
Email Claire Bauskis
If you have a media enquiry, please get in touch.