CommBank Tests AI Assistant CommBank Companion

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) announced it has begun testing a new conversational AI feature called CommBank Companion, designed to help customers manage money and business finances through a simple chat interface inside the existing CommBank app.

The pilot is currently running with employees and a select group of business banking customers. Based on feedback, the bank will refine the experience before expanding testing to some personal banking customers in the coming weeks, ahead of a broader public rollout. Evaluation will cover accuracy, consistency and customer safety.

Features and capabilities

CommBank Companion pulls live data to answer questions and surface relevant information. For personal customers, it can provide home-buying insights such as borrowing power, home valuations, repayment schedules and deposit requirements. It also covers everyday money management including budgeting, savings goals, subscriptions and spending cycles.

For businesses, the assistant offers real-time visibility into cash flow, including historical trends and simple projections, and can suggest practical next steps when pressure or opportunity arises. Planned future capabilities include modelling cash flow scenarios (e.g. hiring or investing), flagging emerging pressures like higher supplier costs, and handling servicing tasks such as reordering statements.

The assistant does not provide financial advice or make decisions on behalf of customers.

Executive comments

Angus Sullivan, Group Executive Retail Banking Services, said Australians want more control and clarity in managing their money, and Companion is designed to surface relevant information in one place. “It reflects a broader shift in banking — from something customers navigate, to something that can actively surface relevant information to them,” he said.

Mike Vacy‑Lyle, Group Executive Business Banking, noted that business owners often have access to data but struggle to use it for decision-making. Companion aims to “bring clarity to some of that complexity — summarising what’s happening in the finance of the business in plain language.”

Safety and security

Companion operates within the secure CommBank app, which has over 9 million daily active users logging in an average of 1.4 times per day — a record high up 6.5% year-on-year. The bank has invested around $1 billion in security, including real-time anti-scam and fraud safeguards. The assistant was built in-house by CBA’s engineering and data science teams, with human oversight, rigorous testing and governance processes to maintain accuracy and customer safety.

CBA will showcase CommBank Companion at its Accelerate AI event on 26 May 2026.