Groupama envisions mutual AI with generative AI and Azure OpenAI Service

Exploring generative AI through a hackathon  

For several years now, Groupama has developed interest in the potential of AI. So, when generative AI made its dramatic entrance into the corporate world, the insurer wasn't in totally uncharted territory, and immediately turned its attention to the solution. "As with most industries, the exposure of ChatGPT raised questions about this new-generation AI, because it quickly became clear to us that it provided convincing answers to the limitations we had previously observed, and which were restricting the use of AI for our business," recalls Thibaut Aboulker.  

The company wondered what business value could generative AI deliver. To answer this question, François-Xavier Enderlé and his teams decided to launch a hackathon, in collaboration with Microsoft, to explore this technology more closely and determine what it could concretely bring to the world of insurance. "The hackathon was based on real use cases that had already been identified, but which we were unable to fully address with the technologies at our disposal," explains the expert.  

From Azure OpenAI Service to the AI Factory: the ingredients for successful scaling up 

It was a great success: only seven months elapsed between the completion of this full-scale exercise and the first applications going into production. "We quickly perceived generative AI as a revolution, as an element that brings value and responds to our strategic issues and challenges," enthuses Enderlé. With this in mind, the group decided to scale up, but not under just any conditions. "From the outset, we opted for a gradual ramp-up, anchored in a strategy of integration engineering", Aboulker reminds us. The goal was to use the right technology for the right value chain, and thus design AI projects that are truly relevant and sustainable. 

To achieve this, Groupama has opted for Azure OpenAI Service, the co-pilot of organizations in the field of generative AI. The choice was motivated by the long-standing relationship of trust between the two firms, and the level of maturity offered by the solution. "Not only is Microsoft a benchmark player, and a long-standing partner of Groupama sharing a number of values, but it is also one of the few players today able to position itself in the field of generative AI," emphasizes Aboulker, adding that the environment provided by Microsoft enables the implementation of a wide range of technologies, from in-house applications to Azure solutions. 

At the same time, the insurer is setting up a think tank - the "AI Factory" - bringing together all the skills and stakeholders that can be mobilized around AI. "Our AI Factory is a true service center. All the right skills are brought together here: technical teams, legal and compliance teams, but also domain experts", says Enderlé. From a Proof Of Concept to production and smart maintenance, everything aims at developing AI bricks in line with the Group's ambitions.  

Deploying a virtual assistant that transforms customer interaction 

The virtual assistant used by the Groupama Employee Savings unit is the very first generative AI application the company actually deployed. It aims to simplify the work of customer managers in their responses to policyholders, thanks to key technologies such as Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Search and Bot Framework. For each question asked, the bot provides a pre-written answer, based on a substantial corpus of documentation, all in a closed and completely secure Azure environment.  

Adopted by all employees specializing in customer relations at Groupama Epargne Salariale, this virtual assistant delivers reliable, verified and verifiable information, and boasts an 80% success rate. As a result, employees interact faster and better, and adapt their responses to the profile of each customer. "Our managers save a considerable amount of time and are able to carry out their work in much better conditions," enthuses Enderlé, "and this clearly enhances the quality of the relationship we maintain with our customers”.  

Creating mutualist AI 

Just because the power of generative AI is unprecedented doesn't mean we shouldn't set certain limits. This, in any case, is Groupama's intention: "We don't see AI as anything other than mutualist AI. In other words, as a technology that serves the common good.” In practice, the various applications of AI must comply with the insurer's own ethical framework and have no other mission than to enrich customer relations and the work of employees. "We don't want AI to discriminate, nor do we want AI to replace people," insists Aboulker. 

Responsible AI is a philosophy to which all professions adhere, whether in operations, technical teams, management control, but also in the purchasing or legal departments. It is part of a process of acculturation and collective emulation.  

Building the use cases that will revolutionize the future of insurance business 

Although only recent, the operational application of AI is arousing enthusiasm at all levels of the company, as evidenced by the AI Factory's planning for the coming months: "25 AI and generative AI use cases are currently being studied or developed," says Enderlé. Some of these will address claims-related issues, while others will be designed to facilitate access to customer information, like the future "FAQ" chatbot that will help visitors of the groupama.fr website to find the right information more quickly. The transformation of the underwriting process is also on the insurer's agenda: "We have imagined a personalized and innovative underwriting process with no need to fill in a questionnaire, a step that is all too often time-consuming", explains the expert. 

Groupama is also preparing a vast training plan dedicated to learning prompting, which should see the light of day shortly. According to Thibaut Aboulker, "With generative AI, setting the parameters of the technology is no longer the prerogative of specialists, it's becoming a matter for business experts," and the Group is determined to seize this decisive advance.