Scotiabank Brings Its Internal AI Tools Under Scotia Intelligence, With AI Handling Over 40% of Contact-Centre Queries

Scotiabank says AI now handles more than 40 per cent of client queries in its contact centres, and AI systems process about 90 per cent of commercial emails and direct them to the appropriate teams, which the bank says has reduced manual work by 70 per cent and shortened turnaround times. The bank gave these examples with the launch of Scotia Intelligence, a programme that brings its internal AI tools, platforms and governance under one structure. "By putting AI-enabled tools into the hands of our global team, we're enabling greater focus on higher-value work resulting in better decisions, faster execution and meaningful outcomes for our clients," Phil Thomas, Group Head and Chief Strategy & Operating Officer, said. Scotia Intelligence is described as a unified enterprise approach to AI, built around shared data, cloud systems, security controls and governance. Its central element is Scotia Navigator, an internal suite of assistive AI tools integrated into workplace systems for staff and designed to support routine work, research, analytics and software development. Employees will also be able to build and deploy custom AI assistants in what the bank describes as a secure, governed environment, and for technical teams the system includes coding tools that automate routine tasks. Branches and contact centres were among the first areas to adopt AI tools developed for specific uses, and more teams are expected to gain access to new functions through Scotia Navigator. In digital banking, Scotiabank highlighted a mobile feature that prompts clients about upcoming bill payments, email money transfers and account-to-account transactions. On governance, the bank said AI use cases are reviewed for fairness, transparency and accountability before launch, and employees must complete mandatory training and annual attestations. Scotiabank also said it was the first Canadian bank to establish a dedicated Data Ethics team and publish a public Data Ethics Statement. The bank said Scotia Intelligence is being designed to support future work on agentic AI, which it described as a path towards more autonomous, context-aware and action-oriented systems over time.