CBA AI 'voice bot' deployment linked to review of 45 roles

CBA’s use of an AI ‘voice bot’ to triage inbound customer calls has led to the bank placing 45 roles under review.

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) said that the “new voice bot system on the bank’s inbound customer enquiries line” went live in June this year.

It’s understood that the system is used to screen inbound callers by identifying their specific questions or issues and escalating them to a domain specialist as appropriate.

The technology “is making it easier and faster for customers to get help, especially in our call centres,” a CBA spokesperson said.

“By automating simple queries, our teams can focus on more complex customer queries that need empathy and experience.”

The FSU linked the system deployment to a potential reduction of “45 roles in direct banking”.

It sought to call attention to the “human cost” of AI deployments and questioned the bank’s ability to maintain “the same service for customers” after technology and staff changes.

It called on the bank to give “workers affected by new technology retraining and support into new roles.”

A CBA spokesperson confirmed that as a result of its investments in technology, including AI, “some roles and work can change.”

CBA’s spokesperson said the bank would “explore opportunities for redeployment and to support affected employees with care, dignity, and respect throughout the process.”

“This includes access to redeployment options, career transition services, and wellbeing resources.”

It said “many” employees had taken up “upskilling and reskilling pathways made available for them to continue their careers at the bank and build capabilities for future opportunities.”

The bank added that it had about 220 open frontline roles in its retail banking division.