AIB and Microsoft Ireland have announced the rollout of a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities across the bank.
The move will see the widespread deployment of Microsoft 365 Copilot to the vast majority of AIB employees.
The bank said the rollout would reduce time spent on repetitive tasks, freeing up staff for higher-value work.
“At AIB, we see responsible AI as having a transformative effect on the experience of our customers and the empowerment of our colleagues,” said AIB’s Chief Technology Officer Graham Fagan.
“We’ve been exploring its potential with our employees through collaboration and testing, and now we’re scaling it across the organisation to deliver smarter, faster, and more meaningful outcomes for our customers and our people,” Mr Fagan said.
The Financial Services Union (FSU) said the AI rollout had been announced without an agreed approach between the bank and the Union.
“The FSU has submitted a draft AI specific agreement to AIB management with the aim of agreeing a negotiated agreement on AI and build on previous commitments from the bank on this fundamental issue for bank workers,” said John O’Connell, General Secretary of the FSU.
“The FSU has recently agreed an AI specific agreement with Bank of Ireland, and it was our expectation that a similar agreement could be reached with AIB,” Mr O’Connell said.
AIB said it remains committed to engagement with the FSU on the continued implementation of AI capabilities.
“AIB and the FSU have a comprehensive agreement on consultation and change, called the Foley Agreement,” an AIB spokesperson said.
“In line with the existing commitments in the Foley Agreement, the Bank and the FSU have agreed, as part of our 2025 pay agreement, to consultation and engagement as any potential changes from the introduction of AI become apparent.”
“We are committed to both agreements and are implementing them both through early and comprehensive consultation with the FSU on this initiative and we will continue to do this,” AIB said.
Last month, the chief executive of AIB Colin Hunt took part in a panel discussion at a Bloomberg event in Dublin.
Asked what impact AI will have on staffing numbers at the bank over the next five years, Mr Hunt said it may lead to a small reduction in net headcount.
“I do think that there are certain manual processes that we do now that will be done by AI in the future, and probably net headcount will be broadly stable with a slight downward bias maybe,” Mr Hunt said.
