Australia's largest company Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) has entered a strategic partnership with OpenAI to explore how generative AI solutions may strengthen scam and fraud detection, and potentially deliver more personalised services for customers.
At the time of writing CommBank is yet to confirm whether this means private customer data will be uploaded into OpenAI systems.
The agreement makes the bank OpenAI's strategic banking partner in Australia, progressively giving employees access to OpenAI’s enterprise-grade AI solution, ChatGPT Enterprise.
The bank is also investing in comprehensive training and upskilling programs to increase AI capability and embed the responsible use of AI across its workforce.
CommBank CEO Matt Comyn says Australia must "embrace this new era of rapid technological change" to be globally competitive.
"Our strategic partnership with OpenAI reflects our commitment to bringing world class capabilities to Australia, and exploring how AI can enhance customer experiences, better protect our customers, and unlock new opportunities for Australian businesses," Comyn says.
"Equipping our people with the most advanced AI tools and capability is a key objective of this strategic partnership.
"We will continue to invest in our people and their AI proficiency so they can better support our customers, while building their skills and experience."
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman highlights Commonwealth Bank as one of Australia’s largest institutions, serving millions of people and businesses every day.
"We’re excited to work together to put advanced AI into the hands of more Australians, making it more useful and impactful for people and businesses across the country," Altman says.
The news comes as the bank reports a 7 per cent increase in net profit after tax (NPAT) to more than $10.1 billion for FY25, bolstered by lending volume growth in its core businesses, a stable underlying net interest margin and a lower impairment expense.
"We remain the main financial institution for one in three Australian consumers and one in four Australian businesses," Comyn explains in today's update.
"With persistently high levels of fraud, scams, cyber threats and financial crime it is critical that we become a simpler, safer and better bank. As a result, we have accelerated our technology modernisation agenda."
Earlier this week CommBank reported a 76 per cent reduction in customer scam losses between the June half in 2023 and the same period in 2025, having invested $900 million over the course of FY25 to help protect its customers against fraud, scams, financial crime and cyber threats.
The group is no stranger to using AI in this regard. Its venture scaling arm x15ventures built the Truyu app which has been launched through a pilot program as a free Gen AI-powered tool to help Australians figure out if a text message might be a scam.
Anyone using the Truyu app can take a screenshot of a suspicious looking SMS, upload it into the app, and get instant analysis from the free Scam Checker tool.
"There’s no single solution to stop scammers, but people can help protect themselves when they stop and check. Scam Checker is another great way to check," says Truyu managing director Melanie Hayden.
"When you upload a suspicious text to Scam Checker, you’re not just protecting yourself. You’re also helping keep others safe by sharing valuable information that can be used to help protect them too."
The app has reportedly already helped thousands by alerting them in near real-time when their identity is used at major merchants – like banks and telcos – or when their personal information is exposed in a data breach.
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