Bank’s new business unit builds own bot to foster culture of innovation, efficiency
UOB’s new Innovation Group is tapping technology and talent upskilling to adapt to banking’s new “intelligent” business model
Trips to the bank can mean long waits, but customers could soon see speedier service at UOB’s physical branches as counter staff use an internal chatbot to quickly retrieve information on products and client enquiries.
The bot, which will be rolled out across UOB’s over 40 branches in Singapore by end-2025, is one of the projects by the bank’s new Innovation Group.
Set up on April 25, the business unit is leveraging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain to better serve clients and the financial ecosystem. It has also been tasked to build a culture of innovation within the bank, equip employees with tech skills and a design thinking mindset – a customer-focused approach to problem-solving – as well as strengthen the resilience of the bank’s business models and enhance its core banking capabilities to unlock new value streams.
This comes as banks increasingly transform their business model from one based on financial products to “a network-embedded and intelligent business model that is AI-powered”, said UOB Innovation Group head Lee Zhu Kuang. This is so they can reach and serve customers “at the point of need”.
“The industry is moving… towards a network-based ecosystem, where value is created through connections and data, not only transactions,” Lee said. “Clients (treat us) as a one-stop shop, so they are the master of their (financial) universe by using our network services.”
“The industry is moving… towards a network-based ecosystem, where value is created through connections and data, not only transactions.”
Lee Zhu Kuang, head of UOB Innovation Group
UOB Innovation Group’s initiatives include:
- A build-your-own-bots platform lets employees initiate the creation of AI bots for their workflows to improve productivity and accuracy
- Bank-wide rollout of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, an AI assistant, saving staff about four hours a week. According to UOB, more than 28,000 employees now have access to Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
- UOB’s Innovation Academy will impart AI, data, blockchain and design thinking skills bank-wide
- Agentic AI, which can act autonomously towards goals, is being developed for five focus areas including risk and compliance
- A model analytics platform through which AI models are built and managed. Models are validated and monitored for adherence to principles and governance guidelines prescribed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore
Upskilling in AI
This transformation involves tapping AI and data analytics (AIDA) to create hyper-personalised solutions and unlock new revenue streams, Lee said.
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Over the next three years, UOB’s Innovation Group will onboard around 100 AI and data analytics talents from the bank’s AIDA Centre of Excellence, in partnership with the Infocomm Media Development Authority and National University of Singapore.
Upskilling talent is core to the bank’s innovation strategy, as “humans are the ones that come up with the ideas”, Lee said. “It’s led by people, powered by technology. That’s why we emphasise training of staff to make sure they have this mindset to innovate.”
As the bank increasingly integrates AI across its functions to improve its service, training spans both technical skills and responsible AI use.
“Ensuring security, governance and trust in the design of new digital products and services is important,” he added. “That’s how the bank will continue to grow in a network-based business model.”
This was produced in partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Global Finance & Technology Network.
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