PNB and AmBank employees share their experience working with Copilot for Microsoft 365

As generative AI becomes more widely available, many industries are seeking intelligent solutions to transform their capabilities. The financial services industry (FSI) is no exception. Already, AI-powered productivity tools like Copilot for Microsoft 365 is empowering people to be more efficient, productive, and creative at work. 

Introducing a new way of working with AI

Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), one of Malaysia’s largest fund management companies, is among the first in Malaysia to deploy Copilot for Microsoft 365. 

The organization first embarked on its digital transformation journey in 2021, leveraging Microsoft 365 to ease transition into a remote working environment. The experience made PNB realize the benefits of cloud solutions for an efficient, collaborative, and secure workspace, regardless of employees’ location.  

While technology can make work easier, AI is only as good as the quality of the data it uses. The benefits, however, are unprecedented in how quickly and easily AI can analyze the data and generate insights that are both reliable and relevant to the task at hand. With the wealth of data it holds, PNB experienced a significant difference after using Copilot for Microsoft 365. 

Ts. Izzat Aziz, Chief Technology Officer of PNB said, “The ability of Copilot for Microsoft 365 to decipher large amounts of context and generate relevant input in a matter of minutes, or even seconds, showcases the outstanding level of sophistication of the AI.” 

Echoing this sentiment, El Zahrul, Head of Application of the Technology Division at PNB shared his experience. “I’ve heard so much about Copilot for Microsoft 365, and after trying it myself, I must say that it truly opens up a new way of working. Using Copilot in my daily tasks has allowed me to save time, especially in simplifying information search. No more manual searches through countless documents or emails – Copilot’s intelligent search quickly locates the needed information.”

Simplifying financial services in the era of AI

AmBank, one of the largest banking groups in Malaysia, is also among the first financial services organizations in Malaysia to experience this next-generation AI innovation in their workplace. 

Since embarking on their journey with Copilot, employees have reported a positive change in their work quality and efficiency. For instance, they can easily create personalized and engaging presentations with Copilot in PowerPoint, schedule and prepare for meetings efficiently with Copilot in Outlook, and present data in a clear and concise manner with Copilot in Excel. 

Rozidatul Akmal Kamil, Project Manager at AmBank shared, “It has significantly improved my work experience. Copilot for Microsoft 365 helps me work smarter and faster, while enhancing the quality and impact of my output.” 

She elaborated, “Copilot on Teams is one of my favorite features. The recap function has helped me save about 40% of the time I usually spend on minute-taking. When enabled, it listens to, captures, and summarizes the meeting discussions and action items in a clear and concise way, providing the minutes within an hour after the meeting ends. This liberates users, including myself, from mundane tasks; allowing us to focus on more strategic and impactful work.” 

All around the world, early users of Copilot do not want to go back to working without it. In a Work Trend Index Special Report by Microsoft, 77% of users said they do not want to give up Copilot. This is consistent with the findings from our annual Work Trend Index report released in May 2023, which found that while 62% of people in Malaysia are worried AI will replace their jobs, even more (84%) would delegate as much work as possible to AI to lessen their workloads.  

This shows that employees are excited about the benefits of AI for their work. Leaders also have a positive attitude towards AI in Malaysia, with managers being more interested in using AI to boost productivity than to cut costs. They are 1.4 times more likely to use AI for this purpose than to reduce headcount.

Our approach to AI 

For 30 years now, Microsoft Research has been at the forefront in advancing the foundations of computing and translating new scientific discoveries into innovative AI technologies to create value for our customers and benefit the broader society.  

A recent study by the Malaysia Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Access Partnership estimates that generative AI can unlock USD113.4 billion in productive capacity in Malaysia, equivalent to a quarter of GDP in 2022. This highlights the transformative role that AI can play in driving economic growth and innovation. 

In our ongoing journey, we are committed to helping organizations unlock the potential of AI in an ethical manner – balancing innovation with responsibility – ensuring that privacy is protected, rights are upheld while still allowing for positive uses of the technology to continue.