Axis Bank Embraces AI and Digital Growth While Preserving Workforce

Axis Bank Embraces AI and Digital Growth While Preserving Workforce

Axis Bank has affirmed that artificial intelligence will reshape the nature of its workforce but will not lead to job cuts. India's third-largest private bank by market value, Axis Bank has expanded its digital team more than tenfold in recent years. According to Sameer Shetty, the bank's Head of Digital Business and Transformation, the introduction of AI is geared toward enhancing efficiency and growth without reducing employee numbers.

Axis Bank has significantly grown its digital division, increasing from about 60 team members five years ago to over 800 today. In line with its digital transformation goals, the bank employs approximately 70 professionals dedicated exclusively to AI projects and plans to expand its digital team by around 10% annually.

With AI-driven automation streamlining many backend operations, the bank’s workforce composition will shift towards more customer-facing roles over the next five years, Shetty stated. This change emphasizes the bank's commitment to enhancing customer engagement, with employees focusing on addressing customer needs while automated systems manage backend tasks.

The bank’s AI initiatives include a hyper-personalized app experience and targeted digital advertising that has resulted in a nearly 50% boost in customer acquisition while reducing costs. Axis Bank has also launched "Adi," an AI-driven chatbot to assist employees with branch-specific queries, making daily tasks smoother for both customers and staff.The AI shift comes amid a broader trend in the Indian banking sector, with increased investments in digital transformation. Although digitalization offers benefits, it has presented challenges, such as the regulatory suspension faced by Kotak Mahindra Bank for risk issues in digital governance. Axis Bank has taken a careful approach to AI by implementing hyper-personalization to enhance the customer experience, enabling real-time notifications for transactions, bills, and financial insights.