ANZ Banking Group to Launch AI Immersion Center for Staff

The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group has recently announced a partnership with Microsoft to launch an AI Immersion Center at the bank’s Melbourne headquarters. The bank plans to send 3,000 leaders through it over the next 12 months to accelerate AI adoption at scale.

Expectedly, the AI Immersion Centre will help more ANZ leaders comprehend the possibilities and safe usage of generative AI through hands-on learning experiences. In support of this, ANZ has purchased 3,000 Copilot for Microsoft 365 licenses.

ANZ Group Executive of Technology, Gerard Florian, said: “We are actively embracing generative AI across all lines of our business to improve how we serve and protect our customers, process work, and meet regulatory standards.

“Applied safely, generative AI can enhance experiences for customers and employees and help us generate business outcomes faster, with lower risk, and at a lower cost,” he said.

Microsoft News Center states that the AI Immersion Center will enable the bank’s senior leaders to better support adoption and innovation by their teams and transform banking services.

Steven Worrall, Managing Director at Microsoft Australia and New Zealand, said: “We are proud to work with ANZ and support their journey to harness the potential of generative AI to transform the employee and customer experience.”

“The launch of the AI Immersion Centre reflects Microsoft and ANZ’s shared commitment to fostering an environment where technological advancement and employee empowerment go hand in hand, ensuring the workforce is prepared for the future, Worrall adds.

According to early tests, engineers have reported completing some programming tasks 40%–55% faster. Further, with the scaling of GitHub Copilot use, the bank is seeing significant increases in the amount of code produced while overall code quality has improved.