Hong Kong– DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited has confirmed that its AI-enabled virtual assistants have surpassed one million users in Hong Kong, as the lender moves to introduce agentic capabilities across its digital banking platforms.
The bank’s two virtual assistants, DBS Joy for corporate clients and DBS digibot for individual customers, now serve more than 10 million users across Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
From 26 September 2026, agentic features will be rolled out progressively to DBS Joy in Hong Kong, according to DBS. The upgrade will allow corporate and SME customers using DBS IDEAL, the bank’s digital banking platform for businesses, to complete supported banking tasks within a single conversation, rather than simply retrieving information.
More than 100,000 corporate users in Hong Kong are expected to gain access to the enhanced assistant, the bank said.
With the new capabilities, corporate customers can pose natural-language queries such as “Did my payment to ABC company go through?” or “How much did I pay in fees?”, DBS said. The assistant draws on transaction and account data to retrieve, analyse and present answers directly within the chat, removing the need to navigate multiple screens.
Enquiries about recent transactions, alongside questions on navigating DBS IDEAL and tracking payment statuses, are among the most common requests DBS Joy receives, according to the bank. Previously, the assistant could only direct customers on how to locate information themselves.
DBS is also expanding DBS Joy’s knowledge of its SME banking products and flagship programmes, enabling businesses to explore relevant banking solutions through the same conversational interface.
The bank reported that DBS Joy has cut calls to its customer service hotline by 16% since launch. Around 30% of customers have not required a follow-up call, DBS said, while customer satisfaction has remained above 4.2 out of 5.
Meanwhile, DBS digibot, first launched in 2016, has been enhanced with generative AI capabilities across Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan since earlier this year. The assistant currently serves more than five million customers in Singapore and one million in Hong Kong.
In the first half of 2026, DBS digibot resolved nine in every ten queries digitally without requiring a follow-up call, according to the bank.
DBS said digibot will gain agentic AI capabilities in 2027, enabling retail customers to complete tasks such as checking account and card balances, requesting fee waivers, and blocking or replacing cards, in addition to answering questions.
Both assistants’ agentic functions will only activate once customers have logged into DBS IDEAL, Card+ or DBS digibank HK, the bank said, with actions carried out solely on the instructions of authenticated users.
DBS added that the assistants are expected to handle more than one million chats monthly across the three markets, with customer service officers remaining available for more complex needs.
Commenting on the development, Alfian Sharifuddin, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Data Officer, DBS (Hong Kong), said, “The true value of AI lies in delivering meaningful outcomes for customers at scale. Today, DBS Joy and DBS digibot serve over 1 million customers in Hong Kong, enabling us to bring Gen AI and agentic AI into everyday banking interactions.”
“Building on more than a decade of AI innovation, we are taking the next leap forward – moving from helping customers find information to helping them get things done. This is especially significant in corporate banking, where digital assistants remain uncommon and agentic capabilities even more so. By combining our deep digital capabilities, trusted customer relationships and proprietary AI platforms, we are reimagining how banking services are delivered,” Sharifuddin concluded.
