Banco Bradesco streamlines customer service with Azure AI Foundry, apps, and databases

In Brazil’s financial sector, regulations keep growing more complex. Fraud and cyber threats are on the rise. Banks must race to meet the service expectations of digital-native consumers.

One of the largest financial groups in Latin America, Banco Bradesco SA had to respond quickly to customer preferences for more seamless and personalized cross-channel service. But complex approval flows and technical barriers slowed the release of new solutions. Manual, repetitive tasks and decentralized information limited employees’ focus on strategic tasks. 

Bradesco responded with creativity. “Innovation is in our DNA,” says Michel Viana Fernandes, Data and AI Superintendent at Bradesco. “We were the first financial institution in Brazil to launch a virtual assistant for customers, and now we’re leading the way in generative AI.” 

While Bradesco had virtual agents, these agents were designed to handle some requests, however the bank wanted to ensure a more consistent and productive AI experience across contact points. These points included phone, chat, and apps like WhatsApp, which is used for banking in Brazil. 

Streamlining processes with integrated security

Bradesco partnered with Microsoft and Avanade to co-develop the Bridge platform—a multi-agent, generative AI solution. “Bridge is a key element in our strategy of going beyond AI-first,” says Rafael Forte Cavalcanti, Data Intelligence and AI Director at Bradesco. “It’s how we deliver AI-powered banking to our customers and employees.” 

For security and compliance, Bradesco standardized governance through Azure Red Hat OpenShift. Bradesco’s AI governance framework, based on international standards, ensures ethical, secure, and sustainable implementation. Multiple layers of protection include content safety, prompt management, and agent intent classification.  

Bridge automates routine processes. Bradesco leveraged Microsoft Azure OpenAI in Foundry Models to build intelligent agents that address inquiries, process documents, and deliver real-time support. The agents reduce errors and help teams focus on higher-value activities. 

Because it’s custom-built, Bridge is connected to the bank’s processes, culture, and business needs. Non-technical teams use it to create and manage their own specialized agents through intuitive interfaces. Integration with Microsoft Power Platform democratizes access to AI, accelerating improvements. “Bridge puts the power of Microsoft Azure AI Foundry in the hands of our business teams,” says Fernandes. “Generative AI is no longer just for data scientists anymore.”

Scaling accessible services for a new era of AI-powered banking

Low-code tools, pre-trained agents, and automated management help the bank take new solutions to market faster. Bradesco uses Azure API Management for rapid deployment and scaling, to streamline approval flows and technical integration. “With Microsoft Azure API Management, we securely manage AI services and APIs across channels,” says Phelipi Dal’Olio, Bridge Manager at Bradesco. “It’s the backbone of our architecture—scaling with demand while maintaining strict governance and data protection.”

To improve service, the bank incorporated Bradesco Artificial Intelligence (BIA) virtual assistants into Bridge. These include BIA for Customers and BIA Corporate for employees. “We wanted to unify the customer experience,” says Greta Sanches Da Costa, Head of Digital Products at Bradesco. “With intelligent agents in the Bridge platform, powered by Microsoft Azure, Bradesco customers receive consistent, high-quality service no matter how they engage with us.” 

Using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, BIA agents deliver intelligent support across digital channels, like mobile apps and WhatsApp. With a technology agnostic architecture built on Azure microservices and APIs, Bradesco ensures integration with legacy systems. Powered by the enterprise-grade foundation of Azure Red Hat OpenShift, Bridge enables consistent deployment, scalability, and management of AI workloads. 

As part of Bridge, Bradesco’s intelligent agents support millions of users, dozens of projects, and billions of transactions daily. BIA for Customers supports personalized customer interactions for roughly 74 million customers. BIA Corporate provides fast, accurate answers to job-related questions, using Azure Cosmos DB for reliable access to current information. And Microsoft Azure Redis Cache enhances performance across Bradesco’s AI-powered services. The outcome: improved operational efficiency and decision-making. 

“Azure Cosmos DB is the ideal choice to power extremely fast and scalable services in our high-performance environment. Each day, it processes more than two million requests and two billion inference tokens using large language models, without any bottlenecks,” says Dal’Olio.

Realizing tangible ROI with AI 

Bradesco transformed operations and customer experience. Automation and orchestration led to a more than 30 percent increase in productivity compared with legacy solutions. The bank launches solutions up to 10 times faster. 

The impact is clear:

• 83 percent resolution rate through BIA for Customers, which serves millions of customers.

• 80 percent resolution rate through BIA Corporate for employees, leading to a Net Promoter Score jump of six points.

• 89 percent request retention, with inquiries resolved without escalation.

• 8x productivity increase in managerial efficiency through generative AI tools.

• 65 percent efficiency gain in audit planning with the internal Audit Intelligent Learning Assistant.

Business units can now create and manage AI agents, fostering innovation. And software engineers get a boost, too: They can use virtual assistant BIA Tech to accelerate development. The scope is gigantic, with 10 large language models and more than 400 experiments and at least 20 use cases in production. 

Employees spend less time on manual tasks and more on strategic initiatives. For example, MentorIA, an agent for the collections area, automates analysis of more than 18,000 calls per day, driving an increase in conversion of more than 22 percent. 

Building a Bridge to the future

Bradesco is investing in autonomous agents and multi-agent systems. It’s expanding into areas such as customer onboarding and real-time voice interaction for instant payments. The Smart Pix project, currently in pilot, will enable customers to make instant transfers using voice commands on WhatsApp. Azure Red Hat OpenShift will provide a reliable, scalable foundation for deploying and managing AI securely.

Smart Pix will democratize access to technology and align with the Brazilian cultural preferences for voice messaging. “People want to bank on the go. Soon, customers will be able to use voice commands to complete Pix instant transfers in just two steps,” says Da Costa. 

“We’re bringing AI-powered banking to millions of Brazilians, so performance at scale is non-negotiable,” says Rafael Romualdo Wandresen, Senior Bridge Manager at Bradesco. “Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB gives us the speed and resilience to power AI-driven banking at scale. It’s a foundation we trust to keep evolving with us.”

Wandresen concludes, “Bridge isn’t just a platform; it’s a launchpad. With Microsoft Power Platform and Azure—including Azure API Management—we’re scaling AI securely across the business, automating workflows, modernizing apps, and transforming how teams deliver value.”

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