As Indian banks move beyond digitising transactions to embedding artificial intelligence into customer engagement, risk management and everyday financial decisions, the challenge is no longer simply about deploying new technology. It is about scaling innovation without compromising trust, security or accountability.
In this exclusive interaction with Express Computer, Sanjay Mudaliar, Executive Director, Bank of Baroda, discusses the bank’s digital ambitions with bob World 2.0, the business value emerging from its AI deployments, and the governance challenges of introducing agentic AI into a highly regulated banking environment. He also explains why sustainable AI transformation depends less on individual use cases and more on building the institutional capabilities to turn experimentation into measurable business outcomes.
Bank of Baroda recently launched bob World 2.0, introducing features such as conversational banking, personal financial management and hyper-personalised experiences. Which of these innovations do you believe will have the most meaningful impact on customers, and why?
While all three innovations, Conversational Banking, Personal Financial Management (PFM) and Hyper-personalised Experiences, play an important role in enhancing customer experience on bob World 2.0, Conversational Banking has the potential to be particularly transformative.
Features like Tap-to-Talk for making payments, simplify the banking journey, reduce friction and improve accessibility, especially for first-time digital users. PFM tools give customers a 360o view of their finances, while hyper-personalisation makes banking more relevant and intuitive.
Together, these capabilities create a more seamless, engaging and customer-centric banking experience and, with bob World 2.0, we are among the pioneers in this space.
With bob World serving a diverse customer base across age groups, geographies and financial needs, how are you using data and technology to deliver more relevant and personalised experiences at scale?
With bob World serving a diverse customer base, our approach is centred on understanding customer needs and creating relevant digital journeys for different customer segments. Leveraging data, analytics and technology, we deliver personalised experiences through persona-based banking, to cater to the unique needs of Millennials, Women, Senior Citizens and NRIs.
For example, senior citizens benefit from a simplified interface and assisted journeys and NRIs from tailored cross-border banking solutions. Women customers are offered relevant financial solutions, while younger customers receive goal-based savings and engagement-led features.
By combining customer insights with real-time analytics, we are able to deliver contextual communication, personalised recommendations and relevant product offerings, creating a seamless and meaningful digital experience for every customer.
As customer expectations continue to evolve, how do you see the role of a banking app changing over the next few years? What could the next phase of digital banking look like beyond transactions and service fulfilment?
The role of a banking app is evolving from a transaction platform to becoming a trusted financial companion. Customers increasingly expect personalised financial guidance, proactive support and seamless access to a range of financial services through a single digital interface. Technologies such as AI, conversational banking and predictive analytics will help anticipate customer needs, provide relevant recommendations and simplify financial decision-making.
The next phase of digital banking will be less about transactions and focus more on helping customers make smarter financial decisions. Ultimately, success will lie in enabling customers to achieve their financial goals through a simple, secure and intuitive experience.
Looking ahead, AI-enabled agentic payment capabilities could allow customers to seamlessly delegate routine financial tasks. For example, an AI assistant could verify and pay monthly utility bills and routine payments on customer’s behalf, making the experience more convenient and frictionless. As these capabilities mature, banking apps will evolve beyond service fulfilment to become intelligent financial partners.
Bank of Baroda has spoken about leveraging AI across both customer-facing and back-end operations. How is Bank of Baroda approaching AI deployment across these two areas, and where are you seeing the greatest impact so far? Which use case has delivered the most tangible business value so far?
We are deploying AI across both customer-facing and back-end operations with a clear focus on improving customer experience, employee productivity and operational efficiency at scale.
On the customer side, solutions such as ADI, ADITI and the Virtual Front Office have handled over 8.3 million interactions, while bob SAMVAD enables multilingual engagement. In a country as diverse as India, AI can help remove language as a barrier to banking.
At the back end, AI supports early warning system, collection, cross-sell, risk management and acts as an employee buddy. For e.g. GyanSahay.AI, our GenAI-enabled knowledge management platform for employees, alone handles over 4,800 employee interactions daily.
The most tangible impact so far has come from Conversational AI, which has enhanced service delivery while improving efficiency.
Artificial Intelligence initiatives often involve experimentation and learning. Have there been instances where the Bank reconsidered or recalibrated an AI initiative after assessing factors such as scalability, data readiness, operational complexity or regulatory requirements?
Yes, responsible AI deployment requires continuous learning and recalibration. As initiatives move from concept to production, they are reviewed across business, technology, security, compliance and data governance functions. These reviews may lead to refinements in design, data access, monitoring frameworks or level of human oversight.
In some Generative AI initiatives, we have adjusted how responses are generated, how sensitive information is handled and how solutions integrate with core banking systems. A successful proof of concept demonstrates that technology works. The big step is ensuring that the solution is scalable, secure and compliant for enterprise-wide deployment.
As investment in AI accelerates, how do you distinguish between initiatives that create long-term strategic capability and those that may not deliver sustainable value over time?
We distinguish between individual AI use cases and long-term AI capabilities. While a use case may solve a specific business challenge, a strategic capability enables the organisation to address many more over time. We assess whether an initiative addresses a repeatable business need, can operate at scale, delivers measurable value and supports governed reuse across functions.
At Bank of Baroda, we are building an institutional innovation ecosystem through AAROHAN GCIC, our Global Capability, Innovation & Transformation Centre; a dedicated AI unit; and the Baroda Research & Innovation Centre. The real strategic asset is not a single model, but the Bank’s ability to repeatedly convert business challenges into trusted AI solutions.
Agentic AI is becoming a major focus area globally. In a highly regulated environment such as banking, how do governance, compliance and auditability considerations influence what the Bank chooses to deploy?
Agentic AI represents an important evolution because it can initiate actions rather than simply generate responses or recommendations. In banking, this requires strong governance and clear accountability.
Our approach is risk-based autonomy. The greater the potential impact on customers or business outcomes, the stronger the level of oversight and control. We emphasise clearly defined use cases, authorised data access, audit trails, accountability and human intervention points. For example, AI may support credit appraisal by consolidating information and generating insights, but final decisions remain with authorised bank officials. Trust must be built into every AI-driven action through governance, compliance and accountability.
Looking ahead, what does success in AI and digital transformation mean for Bank of Baroda over the next two to three years? What key milestones would you like to achieve?
Bank of Baroda has been an early mover in AI initiatives and a pioneer in digital transformation. For us, success over the next two to three years means evolving into a more simple, secure, intelligent and inclusive Bank, with AI serving as a trusted and embedded capability across the organisation.
With over 9 crore digitally enabled customers and more than 96% of transactions conducted through digital channels, our focus is on further deepening digital adoption, enhancing customer engagement and delivering more personalised experiences through AI-driven capabilities and data-led insights.
Over the next few years, our aim is to expand the use of AI across key areas such as customer service, credit, risk and fraud management, while maintaining strong governance and human oversight.
Ultimately, success will be measured by stronger customer trust, higher productivity, greater operational efficiency and better outcomes for both our customers and the Bank, in line with our theme for the year – Leading with Trust.