PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk or BRI is collaborating with Microsoft in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning as a form of full support for financial inclusion in Indonesia. This is related to innovation in banking services, particularly in the field of information technology, to reach more people who have not yet been served by banking services. On April 30, 2024, Microsoft held the "Microsoft Build: AI Day" event in Jakarta. The event was Microsoft's tour in Southeast Asia, bringing together stakeholders in technology, especially those interested in AI development. At the event, BRI Digital and Information Technology Director Arga M. Nugraha presented the roadmap and latest breakthroughs in accelerating financial inclusion in Indonesia. Previously, BRI and Microsoft had also agreed to commit to addressing the inequality of access to financial services that still limits economic growth in Indonesia.
"Many customers who, despite being familiar with digital, still need human interaction to feel more secure and trust in banking services. Therefore, at BRI we are developing humanized technology, so that it can provide a sense of security, comfort, and most importantly, build trust," he said.
Together with Microsoft, BRI will modernize BRI's conversational banking platform, modernize BRI's IT workload management, explore collaborative technology to strengthen BRI's market share, enhance digital capabilities, IT, and technical capabilities of BRI workers. Microsoft Indonesia President Director Dharma Simorangkir said that they feel honored to be able to collaborate with BRI to accelerate inclusive economic growth in Indonesia through the utilization of Microsoft's generative AI.
"We hope that BRI's presentation at the Microsoft Build: AI Day Jakarta event, attended by thousands of developers from the country, will inspire the birth of new generative AI-based innovations and solutions in various sectors; transforming opportunities into reality, towards the Golden Indonesia 2045," he said.
Arga also added that advanced technology is used to improve accessibility while maintaining personal interactions through banking agents and customer services. Therefore, the collaboration between BRI and Microsoft emphasizes the importance of AI adoption, including the adoption of GPT technology through the Azure OpenAI Service for BRI's Sabrina Chatbot. This technology allows Sabrina Chatbot to learn regional languages and various Indonesian language styles, enabling it to interact with more complex queries. As a result, the company noted, Sabrina Chatbot now handles more than 38 percent of BRI's Call Center traffic load.
Previously, through BRIBRAIN, BRI also utilized its wealth of big data to improve the performance of AgenBRILink and BRI marketing personnel as the spearhead of financial inclusion. BRIBRAIN can provide insights into potential customers to be acquired as agents, recommendations for agents to be promoted, and leads for micro-debtor acquisition. Arga also explained how BRIBRAIN adopts Generative AI and Cognitive Search to enhance the work of frontliners, such as BRI customer service and call center agents through the WISE (Working Instruction Search Engine) platform. WISE itself makes it easier for frontliners to search for information and procedures in dealing with customer inquiries and complaints, thereby accelerating information flow and streamlining customer service.
Moving forward, BRI will continue to explore the potential for collaboration with Microsoft and increase the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technology from the company. This step aims to expand the use of AI technology in BRI's business processes, including improving work automation and developing more efficient processes. By leveraging AI technology, BRI hopes to accelerate the innovation process and provide significant added value to its customers. The importance of financial inclusion as a foundation for inclusive economic growth is emphasized, and in this context, the partnership between BRI and Microsoft is expected to produce significant breakthroughs. The main goal of this partnership is to expand access to banking services to more customers, including those who were previously difficult to reach. With AI technology as a tool, BRI and Microsoft are working to create solutions that are more user-friendly and more affordable for the wider community, thus supporting inclusive economic growth.