How CommBank uses AI to protect customers & power innovation

AI has been utilised by CommBank for more than a decade, underpinning how the bank improves customer experiences, strengthens risk management and invests in the technology foundations needed to compete globally. The latest Evident AI Index ranking recognises not just innovation, but the governance, talent and transparency required to scale AI responsibly at enterprise scale.

The Evident AI Index was introduced in 2021 to independently measure the maturity and adoption of AI in the banking sector and is regarded as a trusted benchmark of its kind. In 2025, CommBank improved its global ranking, moving up from fifth to fourth place globally.

The index draws on millions of publicly available data points to evaluate performance against 70+ indicators across four critical pillars of AI maturity: talent, innovation, leadership and transparency.

In 2025, CommBank’s improvement in the ranking was driven by improvements in talent development and transparency, reflecting the bank’s sustained focus on empowering its people and responsible AI adoption. 

Scaling responsibly for long-term value

At CommBank, scale is central to how AI is designed and governed. Every day, the bank uses AI to support decisions intended to benefit customers and employees, with models operating across fraud detection, cybersecurity, customer engagement and operations.

According to Evident, top 10 banks are improving their AI maturity scores 2.3 times faster year on year, than the wider index, suggesting that global leaders are compounding advantages through sustained investment.

Jenna French, General Manager, AI Acceleration, CommBank, says the bank is scaling and investing in AI to improve customer experience, while ensuring this is done responsibly with training, policies, processes and standards in place so AI is built, rolled out and used in a safe manner.

Responsible AI underpins every aspect of AI within CommBank, French says. Significant investments have been made in building out policy, frameworks and capability to ensure AI is used within the bank responsibly, safely and securely.

Transparency and responsibility around the bank’s approach to AI has been integral, French says.

CommBank was recently the first Australian bank to release a report outlining its approach to adopting AI and how it is managing the associated risks.

“Our approach is focused on our risk management foundations and guided by our AI principles,” she says.

Enhancing the customer experience and building trust

Improving customer experience with AI has also contributed to the bank’s place in the index, but some of those contributions aren’t immediately visible to customers. Instead, AI is working constantly, invisibly in the background to protect Australians from scams and fraud.

“We’re [CommBank is] really focused on how AI can be used to disrupt and stay ahead of the scammers,” French says, “because the reality is the cybercriminals are already using AI to enhance their techniques.”

AI scam and fraud detection and prevention has led to around a 20% reduction in CommBank customer losses from July–December 2025.

AI is also making its presence felt in the way customers interact with the bank. French says that when calling the bank, customers are told if they are interacting with AI and are given the choice of alternative channels if they are not comfortable with AI-powered service.

“When customers call the bank, we disclose the use of AI so they can absolutely choose if they want to proceed or not,” French says.

While not all customers are comfortable interacting with AI, many are happy to embrace the technology because it helps them solve queries quickly and easily. CommBank launched its generative AI-powered chatbot in 2025, providing customers with timely, tailored solutions for both simple and complex enquiries. French says call centre wait times have fallen by up to 40%.

“We know call centre wait times are a massive pain point for our customers. By leveraging AI tools, we’ve really been able to improve our overall customer experience,” French says.

AI embedded in CommBank’s culture

For French, CommBank’s success in the Evident AI Index is the result of years of consistent investment and a clear sense of purpose, driven from the top of the organisation.

“We have a leadership team that believes in the opportunity AI brings, not only for our customers and communities but also for our people, and that belief is consistently communicated throughout the bank,” says French.

The leadership team has also made it clear responsible AI is something that rests with every individual in the company, not just with a central tech team.

“We put the right education, training, frameworks and guidance around ensuring our people – whether they are new to using AI or whether they are building AI into our systems and experiences – know how to do it safely, transparently, ethically and aligned with our responsible AI guidelines,” French says.

French says people and culture are what set the organisation apart from its competitors. To this end, the bank has made significant investments in AI education for its people as part of its commitment to fostering a skilled, future-ready workforce.

“We put the right education, training, frameworks and guidance around ensuring our people … know how to use and build AI safely, transparently and ethically.”
–  Jenna French, General Manager, AI Acceleration, CommBank

“If we don’t invest in our people, we don’t get the outcomes for our customers,” French says. “Our people are critical to the success of everything we do.”

This kind of empowerment helps staff move beyond basic AI adoption and actively drives innovation. Increased AI fluency can help CommBank’s people identify new operational efficiencies and improve customer experience.

“We don’t use a technology such as AI just because it’s new. It has to actually solve problems for our customers,” she says.