Australia – National Australia Bank (NAB) has begun rolling out a conversational analytics tool that allows employees to query complex datasets using plain English questions and receive answers within seconds.
The bank said Databricks’ Genie and Genie Code tools are now live within its analytics community, making NAB the first bank in Australia to deploy the capability in this way. The initiative forms part of the bank’s broader data strategy aimed at improving access to trusted data and supporting decision-making across the organisation.
According to NAB, early use of the tools has resulted in development time savings of between two and four days per use case. The bank expects further efficiencies as adoption increases. Wider business access is currently being piloted, supported by employee training and governance controls.
The rollout is intended to move teams beyond reliance on static reports by enabling access to shared datasets across the bank. NAB said the approach allows teams involved in customer service, risk management and fraud prevention to access consistent and up-to-date insights more quickly.
The bank also noted that combining artificial intelligence and advanced analytics enables it to bring together information such as service interactions, transactions and customer details to better understand customer needs. These capabilities contribute to NAB’s Customer Brain platform, which is designed to provide customers with more timely and relevant updates.
NAB Executive for Data and Analytics Jessica Cuthbertson said transaction disputes illustrate the benefits of integrating multiple data sources.
“It means we can keep customers proactively informed at each stage – whether we need more information, the case is under review, or it has been resolved. This reduces uncertainty for customers and that’s important,” Ms Cuthbertson said.
“We can see the difference it makes – customers who are proactively informed throughout the process are 30% less likely to call to get information or for peace of mind.”
Cuthbertson said the deployment of the Genie tools and the move to shared, access-controlled datasets align with the bank’s focus on ensuring consistent and reliable data supports decision-making.
“This is about turning data into action,” Ms Cuthbertson said.
“In banking, we must balance speed with strong governance, and this approach lets us do both.
“For our colleagues, it means less time searching for information and more time applying their judgement where it matters. For customers, that translates to more consistent, better experiences.”
NAB said all access to the new tools is governed by existing permissions and controls to ensure compliance with data security and privacy requirements. The initial deployment is focused on the bank’s analytics community, while broader business access remains under evaluation through pilot programs.
The Genie platform allows users to ask questions about data using natural language, translating business queries into governed SQL requests and returning auditable answers in seconds.
