How BPCE Assurance is training 900 employees on generative AI

In a world where generative AI revolutionises professional practices, training your teams in these new uses is a competitive advantage. Mastering AI tools is becoming necessary to innovate, optimise processes and remain relevant in the market.

With this in mind, the BPCE Group has integrated ‘ MaIA ‘, a privatised version of Chat GPT, into its work environment. Devoteam has supported the Personal Insurance business of BPCE Assurances in the acculturation and training of its more than 900 employees. This program aimed to train employees on prompting methodologies and best practices and identify cross-functional and business-specific AI use cases.

In this article, Nofel Goulli, Deputy Managing Director who oversees the Technologies and Operations domain of the Personal Insurance business line at BPCE Assurances, shares the challenges of this transformation project around AI, carried out in collaboration with Devoteam.

In what context did you deploy AI systems within BPCE?

The arrival of ChatGPT and its privatised version, ‘ MaIA,’ within the BPCE group quickly raised two essential questions for BPCE Assurances’ Personal Insurance business: how to acculturate our employees to the use of generative AI and how to acquire experience in this field to remain at the forefront of innovation in the insurance sector.

This reflection led to the project of a tailor-made deployment of MaIA in our business. We realised that making the tool available was not enough; it was crucial to creating an ecosystem favourable to its adoption and optimal use.

Our key objective has been to transform our employees into true pioneers of ” prompting “. To achieve this, we have set up specific training courses to teach them how to interact effectively with the MaIA tool. At the same time, we have developed a collaborative prompt library, a dynamic resource that evolves with the contributions of our teams.

This initiative has allowed us to master generative AI and integrate it harmoniously and efficiently into our daily lives, thus opening the way to new possibilities and amplified performance.

Devoteam was our strategic partner in setting up this pilot, training the beta testers, and identifying relevant and diversified use cases.

What were the deployment procedures?

The deployment within the Personal Insurance Business of the privatised ChatGPT, MaIA, was designed as a progressive and structured journey.

We started with a pilot with COMEX members and a group of experienced users who served as beta testers. Devoteam was our strategic partner in setting up this pilot, training the beta testers, and identifying relevant and diversified use cases.

Once we had gathered significant feedback, we launched a large-scale deployment program that reached our 900+ employees. This program was enhanced with resources such as a prompt library, self-service training modules, and “Lunch and Learn ” workshops. We also trained relays in each department, and we were responsible for raising awareness and supporting their colleagues in adopting best practices.

What are the professions concerned, and what are their use cases for generative AI?

MaIA opens up new perspectives for all departments of the Personal Insurance business, offering each one the opportunity to exploit its potential uniquely and effectively.

For example, our lawyers can leverage this technology to monitor legislative and regulatory developments, identify risky clauses, detect inconsistencies and ensure compliance with current standards.

Similarly, our Investment Management colleagues can use it to analyse a wide range of data, evaluating investment opportunities such as acquisitions, private placements, or investments in alternative assets. This technology also enables comparative analyses, supporting informed decision-making.

MaIA also stands out as a powerful tool for rephrasing emails, structuring communications, developing work plans and designing innovative ideation strategies, increasing our efficiency and clarity.

This focused, results-oriented approach allows us to maximise the benefits of generative AI across all functions of our organisation, propelling our performance to new heights.

How did Devoteam support you?

Devoteam has been a key strategic partner in our journey. With a clear vision of our goals, we have benefited from Devoteam ’s expertise in structuring and deploying our acculturation initiative. Their mastery of prompting frameworks, such as APE, ACTIF and CARE, has been a significant asset, providing us with valuable insight into generative AI that has proven extremely useful.

Devoteam collaborators also played a vital role in the creation of our prompting library, an initiative that we considered from the start of the project despite its novelty. Their commitment to a constantly evolving field was particularly appreciated.

Together, we also explored the tool’s limits and anticipated its future developments. Thanks to feedback from the various business departments, we refined our use cases and identified development needs, thus ensuring a solid, future-oriented deployment that is conducive to innovation.

What are the challenges of adoption?

Integrating new technologies, such as generative AI, presents bold challenges that we must address pragmatically. For our privatised ChatGPT, MaIA, it is essential that our employees can take ownership of the tool and develop user reflexes. To encourage this adoption, we must reinforce and repeat our messages about this technology.

The natural barrier to adoption is not the technology itself but the lack of adequate support when the tool is simply made available. We are therefore committed to closely monitoring the evolution of MaIA uses, analysing their pace and depth while identifying the different typologies of use within our teams. This proactive approach will allow us to transform challenges into opportunities and significantly optimise our performance.

What really made the difference was the commitment of the Devoteam experts, their proximity to our employees, and their exemplary adaptability.

What was Devoteam’s added value to this project?

Beyond technical expertise, we look for a partner’s ability to structure our approach, pace our progress, and provide real added value on the substance. But what really made the difference was the commitment of Devoteam experts, their proximity to our employees, and their exemplary adaptability.

Thanks to Devoteam, we benefited from an agile and flexible approach. They could structure our approach while maintaining a close link with our teams, encouraging continuous responsiveness and adaptation.

As we implemented our rollout plan, they considered our feedback to help us adjust the rollout accordingly. This ability to evolve and adapt quickly was valuable, allowing us to transform our ambitions into concrete and successful achievements.