From Call Volume to Client Value: AI in the Banking Sector

What happens when the volume and complexity of client needs outpace the capacity of even the world’s biggest banks? And how can AI move beyond efficiency tools to actually enrich client conversations, deepen relationships, and reimagine frontline service?

On this episode of Where AI Works, host Peter Cappelli sits down with Sohaib Perwaiz, the Senior Director of Business Advisory at RBC Borealis — the Royal Bank of Canada’s enterprise AI solution development hub and center of excellence. Their conversation explores how AI is being applied across the enterprise, including inside the bank’s advice center, where generative AI is helping thousands of human advisors reduce call times, surface insights from vast pools of transaction data, and transform routine problem-solving into personalized financial guidance. This episode also unpacks the organizational realities of scaling AI in a highly regulated industry: how to design solutions that empower rather than replace employees, how to align technology with real business pain points, and why shifting from “shiny object” experimentation to value-driven implementation is critical for banks and other companies as they navigate the AI era.

Episode Highlights:

4:49 - Sohaib describes how generative AI is being applied within RBC’s call center to improve both productivity and the client experience.

11:21 - Sohaib explains why he thinks augmenting human agents with AI adds more value than replacing them with AI-powered chatbots entirely.

17:24 - Sohaib lays out how RBC is using machine learning to drive greater client retention in the mortgage aspect of its business.