Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming how businesses in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region engage with their customers – automating tasks, personalizing interactions and unlocking new levels of efficiency.
Here, we explore how some of the leading APAC brands are using AI to redefine customer experience (CX), drive smarter operations and strike the right balance between automation and the human touch.
1. DBS Bank: Scaling AI for customer value
DBS Bank of Singapore has embedded AI deeply into its operations, using more than 800 AI models across 350 use cases to enhance CX and drive business efficiency.
With AI integrated across multiple areas, the bank leverages data-driven insights to provide hyper-personalized financial nudges and empower relationship managers with deeper customer insights, as well as create tailored career and upskilling roadmaps for employees.
By analyzing customer behavior, the bank provides real-time financial recommendations to help users make better investment and planning decisions. Internally, AI enhances productivity by optimizing workflows and decision-making processes.
According to DBS CEO Piyush Gupta, AI is shaping up to be an “absolute game changer”.
Gupta adds: “DBS has been working with AI for over a decade now, and in recent years, we’ve managed to industrialise the use of AI across the bank.”
2. Telstra: AI-powered tools
For Telstra’s customer service agents, speed and accuracy are of the utmost importance. With this in mind, the Australian telco has turned to generative AI, creating two smart tools – Ask Telstra and One Sentence Summary – developed in partnership with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Search and Azure Machine Learning. The aim of these tools is to streamline support, reduce response times and enhance both customer and employee experiences.
Ask Telstra acts as a real-time AI-powered assistant, giving frontline staff instant access to the company’s extensive knowledge base. One Sentence Summary, meanwhile, uses AI to distill a customer’s history into a concise summary, helping agents understand issues faster and reduce follow-up calls.
Rohit Lakhotia, general manager of customer and channel AI at Telstra, explains the impact: “Ninety percent of customer service agents who tested One Sentence Summary increased their effectiveness. Their calls required 20 percent less follow-up… Ask Telstra was judged by 84 percent of the agents using it to positively impact customer interactions.”
3. AirAsia: Upgraded AI concierge
Low-cost airline AirAsia has upped its AI efforts with the introduction of Ask Bo, its latest virtual assistant designed to provide faster, more transparent and more responsive customer service. The new chatbot replaces AVA, AirAsia’s previous AI assistant, after customer feedback highlighted the need for more accurate and proactive support.
Ask Bo has been enhanced with advanced AI and machine learning capabilities, offering real-time flight status updates, multilingual support and push notifications for delays, boarding and baggage tracking.
Customers can also use Ask Bo to change flights, request refunds and choose service recovery options, giving them greater autonomy over their travel plans.
4. Commonwealth Bank: AI-enhanced customer service
Commonwealth Bank of Australia has expanded its AI-driven customer service capabilities with the trial of Hey Commbank, a ChatGPT-style AI assistant designed to provide hyper-personalized, real-time customer support.
Hey Commbank is being tested on employees who are also customers, allowing the bank to refine its ability to answer questions conversationally using data held by the bank.
The initiative is part of CBA’s broader AI strategy, powered by an ‘AI factory’ developed in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS). This factory – a cluster of computer chips that support AI processing and an Amazon machine-learning service – is expected to accelerate the bank’s AI development speed by four times, enabling faster and more scalable customer solutions.
Beyond chatbot use, AI is also analyzing customer service calls in real-time, providing instant transcripts and sentiment analysis in just 1.2 seconds, allowing the bank to improve customer interactions and tailor financial insights more effectively.
5. Hong Leong Bank: Enhancing efficiency and personalization
Malaysia’s Hong Leong Bank is leveraging AI to personalize banking services and optimize operations, ensuring that customer experiences are more tailored and seamless. By integrating AI, the bank is looking to better understand client needs, refine financial offerings, and improve efficiency across its processes.
“AI will enable us to be more efficient, more productive, and even probably be more accurate in targeting customers as well as targeting solutions to customers,” explains chief marketing and communication officer Zalman Zaina.
With AI-driven insights, the aim is for the bank to offer more precise financial products and services, ensuring greater relevance to each customer.
In addition, Hong Leong Bank is actively exploring generative AI, which could reshape its marketing, campaign management, and customer engagement strategies. “There’s a lot of interest around generative AI... applying AI in the creative and marketing area has got huge opportunities which have not been fully tapped yet,” Zalman adds.
6. Coles: Bringing AI to the supermarket floor
Australian supermarket Coles is integrating AI-driven innovation into its stores with the introduction of smart trolleys, designed to streamline the shopping experience by allowing customers to pick, weigh and pay for groceries directly from their cart – eliminating the need for traditional checkout lines.
The AI-powered trolleys, developed in partnership with Instacart, use advanced sensors, built-in scales and machine learning technology to automatically recognize products and track spending in real-time. Unlike traditional self-checkouts, the AI capabilities allow the trolley to identify fresh produce without the need for manual input, reducing errors and making the process more seamless.
Beyond scanning and tracking, AI is also enhancing operational efficiency by gathering real-time data on shopping behaviors, which can be used to optimize store layouts and stock levels.
CX and AI: The next level
AI is no longer just an operational tool – it’s becoming central to how APAC brands engage with customers, streamline processes and create competitive advantages. From banking and telecommunications to retail and aviation, companies are embedding AI into their core services, not only to improve efficiency but to deliver smarter, more personalized experiences at scale.
The challenge ahead lies in continuing to refine AI applications, ensuring they remain customer-first, transparent and seamlessly integrated into existing service models. Those that strike the right balance between automation and human interaction will set the benchmark for the next generation of AI-driven customer experiences – for 2025 and beyond.
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