Partnering towards digital and AI transformation

On 28 August, TAL hosted an Executive Forum at our Sydney office, bringing together digital leaders from our partner funds. TAL’s Chief Information Officer, Hinesh Chauhan, and General Manager of Growth & Digital Experience, Jenny Nguyen, along with Dai-ichi Life’s Chief Data & AI Officer, Dr Figen Ulgen, led discussions on digital leadership across data, AI adoption and shifting member expectations. 

With super funds increasingly focused on leveraging data insights and digital transformation to improve member engagement, collaboration and shared learning are more important than ever. To keep pace with technological change, the sector needs to combine innovation with disciplined governance and a member-first approach. 

Keeping members at the centre

During the forum, Figen noted that technology and AI are only valuable if they improve outcomes for members.  

"If it doesn’t improve the customer experience, the business case doesn’t hold," she said. 

As member expectations evolve, digital and AI-native members increasingly want seamless, proactive service. This creates an opportunity for funds to design experiences that anticipate members’ needs and act on their behalf.  

TAL is applying AI in practical ways to support our claims consultants and members with  AI-powered post-call summaries automatically capturing conversations, removing the need for claims consultants to type lengthy notes. The Claims Assist CKB chat system, built on the Claims Knowledge Base (CKB), provides an intuitive interface for quickly retrieving policy information. Other tools, including document scanning, fraud detection and internal Q&A chatbots, further streamline processes and reduce manual effort. Together, these innovations free up consultants by giving them fast, reliable access to information so they can focus on guiding and supporting members.  

Future digital journeys could include voice-driven commands that let members instruct the system directly, automated processes that handle tasks like rebalancing investments or starting underwriting steps, and hyper-personalised interactions that adapt to each member’s situation and preferences. The goal is to create experiences that feel intuitive, effortless and tailored, reducing friction and delivering real value. 

Data governance and collaboration

As organisations increase their use of AI, how they manage and share data is critical. The idea of storing all data in a single central location was challenged during the discussion, with participants noting that striving for a ‘perfect’ source of truth can be unrealistic and hard to manage. 

A more pragmatic approach is a federated model where each organisation retains control of its own data but agrees to share specific intersections, such as a member’s identity or transaction details. This approach allows collaboration on important points without giving up control over all data.  

Clear rules and strong governance must underpin this model to maintain member trust, ensure regulatory compliance and enable each organisation to innovate while still working together. 

AI adoption: a shared journey

The Executive Forum highlighted how organisations are exploring AI at different stages, with some running pilots while others are scaling up. And while AI offers enormous potential, its value depends on careful deployment and organisation-wide readiness.  

The discussions emphasised that the bigger challenge isn’t the technology itself, but how to manage adoption and culture change. This requires united leadership, strong governance, clear processes and a culture of continuous improvement to support effective change management. 

The discussions reinforced that experimentation is sector-wide and that no single fund has all the answers. Sharing successes, lessons and best practices accelerates learning and adoption.  

By keeping conversations open, exchanging case studies and co-developing solutions, funds can improve efficiency collectively and address shared challenges. 

If you have any questions or would like to continue the AI conversation, speak to your Partnership Manager.