Singapore companies acknowledge that using gen AI does make staff more efficient

Singapore businesses and statutory boards are both embracing AI and using it to improve work outcomes and efficiencies. This came out during two panel sessions at Microsoft’s AI Tour featuring Copilot in Singapore yesterday.

Keynote speaker Microsoft ASEAN President, Andrea Della Mattea, said:

Businesses across Singapore are seeing the benefits of generative AI for their bottom line, and today, we shared how AI agents are here to streamline their operations and give them an even more competitive edge.

Mattea also spoke on the rise of AI agents and how they have the potential to extend and expand Copilot into an organisation, to connect to data, apps and automate and execute business processes, either working alongside staff, or on behalf of the staff or a team, or a business. 

Speaking on a “Customer Panel on AI innovation” was Keith Leong, Managing Director from Singtel, Quah Ley Hoon, Group Chief Corporate Officer from CapitaLand, Rajesh Sreenivasan, Partner from law firm Rajah & Tann, and Cynthia Yeo, Enterprise Commercial Director, Microsoft Singapore.

Leong from Singtel shared how the telco uses AI in network optimisation, scam protection, and customer service, saving millions in costs while aiding in revenue generation. He also emphasised the importance of investing in talent and forming a solid data foundation for AI adoption.

He added that there also needed to be clear timelines and objectives so that you can align them with the business’s goals. Leong also stressed the importance working with the right technology partner who could enhance and continue to upgrade and innovate what was coming next in the industry.

CapitaLand’s Quah discussed the property company’s AI journey and the use of Copilot, and how the company fostered a culture of AI adoption and innovation amongst employees. Quah explained that CapitaLand focused on efficiency, driving the customer experience, and revenue generation, with significant cost savings and revenue growth. To drive AI adoption, Quah said that they tried to create a movement that wasn’t led by the technical or digital teams but came from setting the goal of establishing 100 AI use cases in the company.

Sreenivasan from Raja and Tan explained their AI strategy, including integrating AI into legal workflows and creating AI champions within the firm. He also advised businesses to get their internal data sorted correctly in terms of classification and having the right data governance systems in place so that the data isn’t accessed by the wrong people.

He spoke of how the company’s use of Copilot resulted in a 30% saving in time drafting documents, summarising legal opinions, and capturing notes. “Which means if you can imagine a team of 20 people supporting one senior council, and each of each those lawyers and staff saving 30% of their time would result in significant ROI to the company.”

The second panel, titled “From hype to habit: The real value of Generative AI at work” saw Hitesh Bhilcabhai from Digital Transformation Lead from Microsoft, Joseph Tan and Christina Seah, the Acting Director and the Deputy Director of the Infotech and Digital Transformation Department, from statutory boards HTX and the Digital office at the PUB respectively. They were moderated by Vivek Chatrath, Country Lead Solution Sales at Microsoft. 

According to Seah, as the PUB was a statutory board, the use of AI wasn’t as straightforward as it would be in the private sector. This resulted in the most common use of Copilot used by the PUB’s officers who participated in the trial was to use it with Microsoft Word and Teams.

They used it to help them in writing reports and to summarise their meeting notes “Because Copilot actually helps the officers to actually do summarisation and improve their words, and the way they draft things more effectively,” Seah said, adding that when the quality of the officer’s reports gets better, less time is needed to review their work which is again a benefit.

Tan was asked how Copilot has changed the way the staff in HTX work and its use cases, he replied that the selling point for him was Copilot’s ability to put an AI assistant into the hands of a public officer who is working on a case.

When ChatGPT first came around the public service didn’t have easy access to it or other AI tools.

Now with Copilot, public officers only need to click on a single button to interact with it. Tan said that if you were to use Copilot in Word and saved five minutes, he was confident that this would cover the cost many times over. Copilot was also used to summarise meetings minutes, craft interview questions, create personas, and is especially useful when people are collaborating across teams.

Tan also spoke on the concern of Shadow AI but said that education, training, and awareness has go hand in hand. Tan went on to say, “We are letting people know that maybe they shouldn't do that, but at the same time, I suppose it gives us a certain pressure that we need to be able to build things, and maybe also gives Microsoft a certain pressure that Copilot has to be of a certain standard, so that people will not be too tempted to go to a shadow AI, but really just use AI from them.”

Microsoft and NUS MOU to create a platform to accelerate startup growth

As part of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with Microsoft Singapore, NUS Enterprise will run a 2025 ‘Generative AI Accelerate Programme’ delivered through its BLOCK71 incubator to fast-track the growth of pre-Series A startups innovating in generative AI.

Designed to support up to 20 startups through a 10-week intensive programme that will provide tailored technical and commercial guidance, mentorship from industry experts, direct access to industry leaders, and incubation at BLOCK71 offices in Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia. NUS Enterprise will also collaborate with Microsoft to explore AI applications across different fields, ranging from autonomous vehicle services to philanthropic initiatives focused on upskilling, accessibility, and sustainability.

 

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