NRMA rolls out NRM8 (QBot) AI assistants across thousands of staff

NRMA, one of Australia's best-known membership organisations supporting millions across motoring, travel and tourism, deployed an enterprise AI platform internally branded NRM8 (originally Antares' QBot product) to thousands of staff over a roughly six-month period ending in 2026. Built on Microsoft Azure inside NRMA's own tenant and exposed through Microsoft Teams, SharePoint and the browser, the family of role-tuned assistants — collectively called the m8 series (NRM8, Chatm8, SIXTm8) — has cut report production from about a week to around ten minutes and lets recruitment teams draft job ads almost instantly, while keeping sensitive data inside NRMA's governed environment. "Since its introduction, QBot, known internally as the m8 series, has emerged as a vital enabler in NRMA's journey toward AI and automation adoption." — Andy McCarthy, GM Technology Engineering, NRMA. "What started as a digital assistant is really evolving into a strategic enabler." — Elena Sergis, Digital Workplace Manager, NRMA. The platform was chosen to address information scattered across many systems that was forcing contact-centre staff, recruiters and technical teams to spend disproportionate time searching for details that should have been easy to find. NRMA required any solution to keep data private inside its own Microsoft Azure environment, which ruled out public generative AI services. Antares has been NRMA's Microsoft partner of more than five years; deployment began with small pilot groups, gathered feedback, then expanded role by role. Operational impact: report production compressed from roughly a week to about ten minutes, job ads drafted almost instantly, faster answers drawn from inside long technical documents, and a measurable lift in staff confidence using AI in everyday work. NRMA is now extending the platform to more brands and business units under the same governance umbrella, with a multi-year roadmap to scale across additional teams and member-facing brands. NRMA, headquartered in Sydney, operates across insurance, automotive services and tourism.