Singapore's DBS Bank is to apply IBM's Watson cognitive computing platform to its wealth management business in a bid to improve the advice and experience delivered to affluent customers.
IBM's Watson machine caused a stir two years ago when it beat two human competitors to claim the $1 million prize on the US quiz show Jeopardy. Unusually for a computer programme, Watson excels at analysing the meaning and context of human language, aligned with the ability to quickly process vast amounts of information.
DBS' implementation of IBM's cloud-based Watson Engagement Advisor solution is targeted for rollout in the second half of the year.
The bank says Watson will help relationship managers analyse large volumes of complex unstructured and structured data, including research reports, product information and customer profiles, to help advisors weigh various financial options available to customers.
DBS CEO Piyush Gupta says: "This collaboration with IBM enables us to explore ways to better harness data, providing more precise, customised and quality solutions that correspond to our clients' needs."
In May last year, ANZ and Royal Bank of Canada said they were working with IBM to test the capabilities of Watson Engagement Advisor for crunching account data and providing clients with relevant, nuanced answers to online and mobile queries.
The DBS contract comes as IBM announces plans to invest more than $1 billion to establish a new business unit for Watson, employing 2000 people in New York City.