DBS AI Innovation Transforms Customer Service

Revolutionizing Workflow Efficiency

DBS Bank has taken a giant leap into the future by deploying its in-house generative AI tool, the CSO Assistant, aimed at revolutionizing customer service operations. Facing daily challenges from handling product inquiries to manually transcribing calls and responding to thousands of offline messages, the bank identified the need to streamline these laborious tasks to enhance both employee satisfaction and customer experience.

A Smart Solution for Busy Customer Service Officers

To ease the burden on customer service officers (CSOs), DBS developed the CSO Assistant—a sophisticated AI system that:

• Transcribes live calls in real time
• Provides instant access to the bank’s comprehensive knowledge base
• Triages and sorts offline messages
• Drafts speedy, high-quality responses

This innovative tool simplifies routine tasks, letting CSOs channel their focus towards more critical customer needs while reducing manual data entry and call handling time.

Seamless Deployment Across Regions

Launched initially at the Singapore customer centre in 2024 following a successful pilot, the CSO Assistant was quickly rolled out to locations including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and India. Supported by advanced generative AI technology such as Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude, the tool has swiftly benefited roughly 1,000 CSOs region-wide.

Measurable Impact on Performance

Since implementing the new system, the bank has recorded significant improvements:

• Reduced Call Handling Time: Average call duration has dropped by up to 32 seconds, thanks to real-time transcription and summarization.
• Efficient Offline Message Management: More than 48,000 messages have been intelligently categorized, with high-priority cases now addressed within a day.
• Enhanced Managerial Insights: Automated call tagging provides rich data to optimize customer experience and demand management.

In Taiwan, for instance, CSOs saw a reduction of 22 seconds in handling time within three months of the full rollout, allowing them to minimize mundane tasks and focus on high-quality service delivery.

Strategic Rollout and Continuous Improvement

DBS’s in-house tech team ensured a measured and systematic rollout of the CSO Assistant. The phased implementation involved:

• Tight monitoring of systems to promptly resolve technical issues
• Regular training sessions and refresher courses for CSOs
• A robust risk governance framework to manage operational risks
• Change management strategies including incentivization to drive adoption

This meticulous approach guaranteed that the tool was not only introduced successfully but also continuously improved based on real-time feedback and performance metrics.

A Bold Step in DBS’s AI Journey

The CSO Assistant is just one piece of DBS’s broader strategy to integrate AI across its services. With over 20 AI initiatives moving from experimental stages to full production in 2024, DBS is pushing the envelope in the digital banking arena. Notable projects include:

• DBS-GPT: An employee-focused AI designed to aid in content creation and writing tasks within a secure environment, now used by over 25,000 staff members.
• Enterprise Knowledge Base: A dynamic tool for synthesizing unstructured information, enhancing research and decision-making capabilities.
• AI-Driven Code and Test Generation: Accelerating software development processes across the bank.

By embracing AI-driven solutions, DBS is redefining the customer service landscape, ensuring efficiency for employees and a premium experience for customers.

Future Implications

This pioneering use of generative AI could signal a transformative trend for the banking industry. As digital tools continue to evolve, other institutions might adopt similar technologies, potentially reshaping traditional customer service models and driving innovation industry-wide.