As AI takes over more routine customer service interactions, Australia’s largest bank is investing in specialist support to handle complex interactions across digital, phone and branch channels.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) is spending AU$140MN on upgrades designed to better connect digital, phone and branch experiences, as customers increasingly expect routine banking to be fast, simple and automated — but still want human support when the stakes are higher.
CBA Group Executive Retail Banking Services, Angus Sullivan, said the bank’s approach is based on the changing nature of customer expectations as digital banking becomes the default for everyday transactions.
“We know most everyday banking now happens online, and it needs to be fast and simple. But we also know there are moments that really matter, when customers want personal support, whether they’re buying a home, facing uncertainty or responding to a scam.”
The investment will fund upgrades across CommBank’s branch network, including refreshed layouts, accessibility improvements, new technology and additional staffing aimed at reducing wait times and improving continuity between channels.
The strategy is designed to reduce friction when customers move between digital and human-assisted support. Customers will be able to start a task online and continue it through phone or branch channels without needing to repeat information or restate their situation, the bank explained.
CommBank Expands AI Banking While Strengthening Human Support
The investment also arrives just weeks after CommBank began testing “CommBank Companion”, an AI-powered conversational banking assistant embedded inside its mobile app.
The bank has positioned the rollout as a deliberately staged deployment backed by around $1 billion in security investment, with governance, human oversight and fraud safeguards central to the strategy.
According to CommBank, the assistant is designed to support customer decision-making rather than replace human judgment, with escalation to human support available where needed.
CommBank’s emphasis on addressing complex customer service issues reflects a wider shift across customer experience strategies, as enterprises increasingly automate everyday interactions while repositioning human service teams around high-emotion, high-complexity moments.
The strategy also reflects growing recognition that customer satisfaction during emotionally significant moments often depends on empathy and contextual understanding rather than speed alone.
As Phil Hatton, Director of CRM Sales, ServiceNow told CX Today recently:
“AI should definitely be handling the high-volume, straightforward interactions where speed genuinely matters, and human nuance really adds little value in those particular instances. Routine queries, status updates, maybe simple transactions, we can automate them confidently, and that should be table stakes.”
But Hatton added that the moment a customer’s issue requires empathy, especially in the case of vulnerable customers, human support should be involved.
“Whether it’s complex, emotional or high stakes, that’s where the human really has to be there and has to be properly equipped.”
Rather than viewing physical branches and human-assisted channels as legacy infrastructure, CommBank is positioning them as environments customers can turn to for escalation and reassurance during complex interactions that AI is less equipped to handle independently.
“This is about making banking simple when it can be, and dependable when it needs to be,” Sullivan said.
CommBank said branches will continue providing full-service banking alongside access to specialist teams, including lenders and relationship managers aligned to local community needs.
The investment also extends to business banking customers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises that continue to value local relationship-based support.
Mike Vacy-Lyle, CBA Group Executive Business Banking at CommBank, said local expertise remains important despite ongoing digital adoption.
“For many businesses, working through an issue with a banker who understands the local context still matters,” he said.
CommBank’s move comes as financial institutions globally attempt to balance AI-driven efficiency initiatives with maintaining customer trust and service quality.
Recent research commissioned by ArvatoConnect, found that while AI adoption across customer-facing banking operations is accelerating, many organizations are struggling to maintain effective escalation paths to human advisers when automated systems fail to resolve issues.
According to the research, 77 percent of financial services leaders believe their organization’s AI strategy could negatively affect vulnerable customers, particularly through reduced access to human support, algorithmic bias and growing digital exclusion.
Similarly, 35 percent of vulnerable customers said they could only reach a human adviser after significant effort navigating automated systems, while 15 percent reported being unable to access a person at all.
A U.K. parliamentary committee warned earlier this year that financial institutions and regulators risk exposing consumers to “serious harm” if governance frameworks fail to keep pace with AI deployment across banking and insurance operations.
Automation may handle transactional simplicity, but human support remains central during moments of uncertainty, vulnerability and major financial decision-making.
