Banco Ciudad accelerates innovation and reduces time to market with AI, powered by Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, and Azure

10 AI agents developed in Microsoft Copilot Studio in six months 

With over one million customers and a strong presence in Buenos Aires, Banco Ciudad is one of Argentina’s most prominent public financial institutions. In recent months, the bank launched an ambitious digital transformation initiative focused on AI, productivity, and security—anchored by a strategic partnership with Microsoft. In a challenging economic environment, Banco Ciudad turned to technology to strengthen resilience, empower teams, and drive sustainable growth. 

As part of its transformation, the bank established a Center of Excellence (CoE) in AI to lead innovation and elevate customer and employee experiences.

“With a focus on continuous innovation, we created the AI Center of Excellence to drive solutions that optimize processes, foster innovation, and reinforce our commitment to excellence and customer experience,” says Elena Cafaldo, Deputy General Manager of Organizational Transformation at Banco Ciudad. 

The CoE’s initial goal was to centralize and lead the bank’s AI strategy, aligning each initiative with organizational goals. After a successful first phase, Banco Ciudad doubled down on AI before year-end. In just six months, the bank developed over ten AI agents to automate tasks such as PDF text extraction and employee training—and plans to double that number to further scale impact. “We defined a clear strategy with Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve productivity, incorporated Copilot Studio to develop specific agents, and scaled with solutions on Microsoft Azure. This structure allowed us to deploy a well-organized and effective roadmap to integrate AI across all levels of the bank," says Matías Venutolo, Head of the AI Center of Excellence at Banco Ciudad. 

It all started with 1,000 Copilot Licenses 

The initiative began with a pilot program, backed by strong executive sponsorship and coordinated participation from key departments including Technology, Asset Protection, Customer Experience, Internal Communications, and Training. 

“We started with a pilot of 1,000 licenses and built a multidisciplinary team. As users discovered the value of Copilot, interest grew. Today, the tool has spread throughout the bank, and we continue to receive requests to join the project,” recalls Guillermo Cabanas, Microinformatics Coordinator at Banco Ciudad. A contract with Microsoft Unified Support accelerated adoption by providing direct technical guidance. 

One of the key differentiators was how easily Copilot integrated into existing systems. APIs were created, queries were enabled directly from Microsoft Teams, and new features were added to the bank’s existing chatbot. 

“With Microsoft Copilot Studio, creating and publishing an app in Teams takes just a few clicks. The same goes for APIs—we configure them in Microsoft Azure, and with a simple Python script, we can start querying. That code is even available on Microsoft’s documentation pages, so there’s no need to build from scratch,” says Sergio Cuenca, Head of Cloud Services, Banco Ciudad. 

The deployment of AI-based solutions is already delivering tangible benefits. With the help of Azure AI Services, Banco Ciudad performs sentiment analysis on over 70,000 monthly customer interactions—whether through IVR or chatbot. At the same time, Azure Machine Learning is used to optimize ticket processing by automatically extracting data from receipts via OCR. These innovations have also strengthened the bank’s marketing strategy and deepened customer relationships.

“With Microsoft 365 Copilot, we’ve redirected the equivalent of 2,400 hours annually toward higher-value tasks. Sentiment analysis in the call center alone saves us more than USD14,500 per month, and each AI agent created in Copilot Studio contributes between USD1,000 and USD1,500 monthly by automating repetitive tasks,” says Matías Venutolo.

Additional benefits include a reduction of four questions per average customer interaction and 30 seconds less per call—translating to nearly 900 hours and USD6,400 saved monthly. Internal satisfaction has also grown: 90% of employees approve of the AI agents used for credit card and loan processes. "Today, with the same team and more solutions, we’re generating a return seven times greater than the cost. It’s a paradigm shift that would have been unthinkable in mid-2024,” continues Matías Venutolo.

The AI Center of Excellence estimates a potential monthly impact of USD75,000. Far from implying job cuts, automation has opened new opportunities for training and task reassignment. “We automated processes like manual call listening, allowing teams to focus on more strategic analysis and service guidance. Now, all calls are evaluated equally—without bias or personal judgment. We’ve democratized supervision and improved objectivity,” adds Matías Venutolo.

GitHub Copilot and Microsoft Fabric on the horizon

Process improvement is not the only visible outcome. A new internal perception has also taken root: The conviction that it is possible to adopt cutting-edge technologies at the same pace as the world’s leading banks. Currently, the relationship with Microsoft is focused on strengthening security. “We are very interested in GitHub Copilot because of its ability to secure code in real time, as it is being written. We want to ensure security from the very beginning of development,” says Sergio Cuenca.

At the same time, the bank is planning to scale its analytics capabilities. “Microsoft Fabric is our go-to for everything related to data analysis and utilization,” adds Guillermo Cabanas.

In this way, Banco Ciudad is establishing itself as a forward-thinking player within Latin America’s financial and governmental ecosystem. Its strategic investment in AI—combined with agile, results-driven execution—positions it as a replicable model for other organizations seeking to modernize with efficiency, security, and a citizen-first focus.

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