Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has launched an end-to-end generative AI (genAI) tool in designed to optimise operations and increase security in the financial services sector.

The platform, called North for Banking, was developed in collaboration with AI firm Cohere. It integrates both the bank and tech provider’s proprietary core models, as well as RBC’s internal platforms, with the aim of accelerating the development of genAI solutions.

The technology is designed to provide a secure AI workspace that helps companies automate routine tasks, improve productivity, and streamline operations.

It seeks to combine advanced language models, search capabilities, and AI agents, allowing users to customise and deploy AI agents for various tasks, including information retrieval, search, analysis and management of complex tasks in different business areas.

The bank intends to provide more accurate and verifiable models with a focus on risk and security features to protect companies in the financial services industry.

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is one of the largest banks in Canada and offers a wide range of financial services.

These include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, insurance, investor services, and capital markets products and services. The financial institution operates in Canada, the United States, and 34 other countries around the world.

Dr. Foteini Agrafioti, senior vice president at RBC Borealis and chief science officer at RBC said the firm is already seeing the positive impact of genAI in applications it previously put into production, including its advice centre, where the bank is using the technology to help advisors answer client questions faster and more accurately.

The firm is also using genAI in its Capital Markets division, where the technology has been used to boost productivity and streamline workflows of research analysts.

"We look forward to exploring deployment of this solution in various use cases over the next several months,” Agrafioti continued.

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