CBA is pushing deeper into AI — could technology reshape Australia’s biggest bank?

Commonwealth Bank is making artificial intelligence a bigger part of how Australia’s largest bank operates. CBA is already using AI across fraud detection, customer service, employee productivity and personalised banking, while chief executive Matt Comyn has highlighted a new AI chat feature being introduced through the CommBank app.

The investment is substantial. CBA says it is spending around $2.4 billion a year on technology and capability, at least $500 million more annually than other major Australian banks. Around 80% of staff are already using AI platforms such as ChatGPT Enterprise or Microsoft Copilot, while 33,000 employees have access to ChatGPT Enterprise.

For investors, the question is whether that spending can lower costs, reduce fraud, improve customer retention and strengthen a banking franchise that generated almost $11 billion in cash profit in FY2026.

With CBA shares also around 18% below their 52-week high, AI is becoming part of a broader debate over whether technology can provide another source of earnings growth beyond mortgages and traditional banking.

CBA has used machine learning for years through its Customer Engagement Engine, which analyses customer activity and helps personalise offers and services. It has since expanded into generative and agentic AI through internal systems used in customer messaging, fraud detection and staff support.

Those tools are already operating at significant scale. CBA processes more than 20 million payments a day and generates more than 40,000 proactive warnings when transactions appear suspicious. AI-supported fraud controls helped reduce customer fraud losses by more than 20% in the first half of FY2026 compared with a year earlier.

Customer service is another major use case. Around 85% of interactions through CBA’s unassisted messaging channels are being resolved by its AI-powered Ceba chatbot, while Compass AI has answered more than 500,000 questions from business-banking staff since July 2024.

For Australian traders, that adds another factor alongside interest rates, mortgage growth and net interest margins. CFDs can provide long or short exposure to CBA as investors assess whether technology spending translates into stronger earnings.

Open a Trading Account

      “Trade CBA Shares with an ASIC-regulated broker. Fast AUD funding via PayID. ”  

Fraud prevention is one of the clearest areas where CBA can show a measurable return from AI.

The bank invested more than $900 million in FY2025 to combat fraud, scams, cyber threats and financial crime. AI allows it to analyse huge volumes of transactions in real time and flag behaviour that manual systems would struggle to identify quickly. The more than 20% reduction in customer fraud losses during the first half of FY2026 gives investors a tangible result from that spending.

Customer service offers another potential saving. If AI can resolve routine banking questions automatically, CBA can reduce pressure on contact centres and branch staff while speeding up service. The bank’s existing messaging data suggest that shift is already happening.

The new AI chat functionality in the CommBank app could push that further by giving customers a more conversational way to find information and complete banking tasks.

CBA also has a large proprietary data advantage. Decades of transaction and customer information can help improve personalisation, fraud detection and product targeting, provided that data is used within privacy and risk controls.

The commercial opportunity is therefore broader than simply cutting staff costs. Better digital service can reduce operating expenses, improve engagement and make customers less likely to move their deposits, mortgages or credit cards elsewhere.

CBA’s operating expenses have risen as the bank spends more on technology, cloud computing, software and AI infrastructure. That means investors eventually need to see productivity improvements offset some of that cost growth.

CBA says it delivered more than 20% more technology changes during FY2026 while reducing critical incidents, and restore times improved by 60%. Moving some workloads from CPUs to GPUs has also reduced the computing resources required for data-intensive tasks.

The bank generated cash net profit after tax of $10.98 billion in FY2026 and a return on equity of 14%. At that scale, even modest efficiency gains can have a meaningful impact if they are sustained across thousands of employees and millions of customer interactions.

The test is whether AI spending starts improving cost growth rather than simply adding another layer of investment.

CBA already has the largest retail banking franchise in Australia, with 34% of retail customers considering it their main financial institution. Around 26% of Australian businesses also nominate CBA as their primary bank. That gives new digital tools an unusually large base across which to operate. Improvements in fraud detection, customer service or product targeting can potentially affect millions of relationships.

CBA’s technology budget also gives it more room to invest than smaller rivals. The bank says its annual spending on technology and capability is at least $500 million higher than other major Australian banks.

ANZ, NAB and Westpac are also investing heavily in AI, so CBA’s advantage will depend on execution rather than simply spending more. The investment needs to produce lower costs, stronger engagement or better revenue growth to become a genuine competitive advantage.

Banking is a difficult environment for AI because mistakes can have financial and regulatory consequences. Automated systems involved in lending, fraud detection or financial guidance need to be accurate, explainable and consistent with privacy and consumer-protection rules. CBA has developed responsible-AI frameworks covering fairness, accuracy, reliability and privacy as deployment expands.

Cybersecurity risk is also increasing as banks use more AI tools and external technology partners. Criminals are using the same technologies to make scams and cyberattacks more sophisticated, which raises the value of AI-based protection but also increases the consequences of weak controls.

Workforce disruption adds another consideration. Greater automation can reduce the amount of routine work required inside the bank, creating potential productivity benefits but also execution and employee-relations risks.

For investors, the financial upside therefore depends on CBA expanding AI without creating new regulatory, operational or customer problems.

CBA remains Australia’s largest listed company and one of the most highly valued major banks globally.

Its shares reached a 52-week high above $185 before retreating to around $151 by October 14, a decline of roughly 18%.

The pullback has come as investors reassess Australian bank valuations, mortgage growth and the impact of higher domestic interest rates. CBA’s strong franchise has historically commanded a premium to NAB, Westpac and ANZ, leaving the stock more exposed when investors question how quickly earnings can grow.

AI could strengthen that earnings case if it improves efficiency, reduces fraud and helps retain customers. Technology spending that simply increases expenses without producing stronger margins or productivity would be much harder to justify.

Operating expenses will provide one of the clearest measures of whether AI is improving productivity. Technology spending is currently increasing costs, so investors will want to see efficiency gains emerge as adoption expands.

Fraud losses provide another measurable indicator. Further reductions would strengthen the case that AI investment is producing direct financial benefits.

Customer adoption of new AI features will show whether the technology is improving the digital banking experience rather than simply automating internal processes.

Revenue remains the final test. Better personalisation and engagement have more value if they help CBA retain deposits, win mortgages and deepen customer relationships.

Trading CBA shares with Mitrade

CBA’s AI investment adds a new dimension to a share price still driven heavily by interest rates, lending growth, margins and the Australian economy.

Through Mitrade, eligible Australian clients can use CFDs to take long positions when expecting CBA shares to rise or short positions when expecting further weakness.

Stop-loss and take-profit orders can define exit levels, while pending orders allow positions to open only when a selected price is reached. Accounts can be funded in AUD, and a demo account is available for testing strategies without committing real capital.

Mitrade is regulated in Australia by ASIC. CFDs are leveraged products, so both potential gains and losses can be magnified.

Start trading CBA shares in three simple steps

You might be interested in…