Imagine a customer service representative dealing with a sluggish computer right in the middle of serving a client. In the past, this would have meant a stressed call to the IT helpdesk and a wait on hold to troubleshoot the issue. Instead, today, at CommBank, employees can open a chat window in Microsoft Teams and describe the problem to ChatIT, the bank’s AI-powered virtual IT assistant. From there, ChatIT can interpret the problem and run a series of targeted automations. Depending on the issue, within two minutes, the device will be running smoothly, and the employee can go back to helping customers – no phone calls, no waiting, just quick resolution.
This instant helper is ChatIT, CommBank’s generative AI-enabled IT support agent that launched in 2024. Built on Microsoft Azure and Copilot Studio, and integrated with the bank’s internal knowledge base, ChatIT can receive employees’ questions in natural language and provide solutions and take direct action to fix issues.
It lives where employees already work – accessible to every staff member through Microsoft Teams – making tech support as easy as sending a message.
Whether an employee asks, “How do I reset my password?” or “my PC is slow, can you help?”, ChatIT is designed to help find fast answers.
Faster support, happier employees
ChatIT doesn’t just answer questions – it can perform “actions,” meaning it carries out certain fixes automatically, such as clearing caches or resolving a slow PC. In the case of the sluggish computer, ChatIT can recognise the issue and trigger a reset on the user session.
Since the launch of its automation function six months ago, ChatIT has processed over 2.3 million messages and executed more than 12,000 automated IT fixes. With each fix averaging just two minutes compared to a typical 17-minute IT Service-Desk call, those time savings across thousands of interactions have translated to nearly 2,500 hours – and counting.
Helping employees to solve everyday tech headaches seven times faster is a game-changer, reducing employee frustration and downtime. That kind of assistance at the individual level is translating to impacts for the organisation’s efficiency.
And if ChatIT ever hits a question it can’t handle, it can hand off to an IT specialist, ensuring everyone gets the help they need.
It’s not just about speed; employees are reporting a better support experience overall. In internal surveys, staff gave ChatIT an average satisfaction score of 4.63 out of 5, and the tool boasts a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +79, an unusually high mark for an IT service. (NPS measures how likely people are to recommend the service – a +79 indicates they are highly likely to sing its praises.)
Pushing the boundaries of AI support
CommBank’s success with ChatIT is gaining notice. This month, Microsoft named ChatIT in its “50 AI Innovators” list, which recognises organisations making groundbreaking use of AI in their industries. This list identifies CommBank as part of a global cohort of AI innovators, recognising its approach to employee-facing AI as cutting-edge.
“Being named in the 50 AI Innovators list is a testament to our aspiration to push the boundaries of AI,” says Rodrigo Castillo, CommBank’s Chief Technology Officer, who has been one of ChatIT’s principal promoters. “ChatIT is more than a chatbot; it’s an engine that improves efficiency and allows our people to focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences.”
In other words, CommBank sees ChatIT not just as a support tool, but as a strategic asset that frees employees to spend more time on high-value work – like improving customer experiences – rather than dealing with tech difficulties.
Broadly, CommBank’s approach to AI has been notably people-centric from the start, focusing on practical problems and employee experience. This aligns with a broader trend: the most successful corporate AI initiatives tend to be those that solve specific pain points and are adopted organically by users.
Enamul Bhuiyan, Executive Manager for End User Experience at CommBank, has overseen ChatIT’s rollout to thousands of employees and made sure their voices are heard by the tech team.
“ChatIT’s evolution has been driven by listening to our people,” Bhuiyan explains. “Features are shaped by user feedback, and this recognition belongs to our thousands of users across the bank as much as to the team behind the technology.”
As ChatIT continues to evolve, it stands as an example of how AI can help an entire workforce. A task that once pulled people away from their real jobs – fixing IT issues – is now handled by an ever-learning digital assistant.