Genworth speeds portfolio trade construction and investment insights with Microsoft 365 Copilot

Genworth Financial, Inc., an American financial services company, and its subsidiaries ("Genworth") have supported families for more than 145 years as they plan for care, protect retirement income, and prepare for the financial realities that come with aging.

In that spirit, Genworth's wholly owned subsidiary, CareScout, is building a more unified approach to aging—one that helps people better understand their care needs, find high-quality providers, and plan for and fund care with clarity and confidence. Through its CareScout Quality Network, which now spans more than 95% of the United States, the company is working to bring greater transparency and consistency to a historically fragmented system.

And as Genworth and CareScout continue to pursue new opportunities, they are turning to AI to equip its people, strengthen decision making, and deliver even better experiences for customers.

Enabling innovation without adding risk

Operating in a deeply regulated industry, Genworth knows that innovation can’t come at the expense of trust. Any new technology must meet strict compliance standards. 

"AI is table stakes for investments, and we can't afford to fall behind given the competitiveness of the asset management business. We see AI as both an efficiency enhancer and a strategic enabler, where the power comes from putting accessible technology into the hands of business experts," says Kelly Saltzgaber, Chief Investment Officer at Genworth.

To strike the balance between progress and safety, Genworth took a deliberate approach. 

“We’re not doing AI for AI’s sake,” explains Morris Taylor, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Genworth. “Innovation needs to be table stakes, but we still have to get real value from it, without limiting the possibilities.”

To put the right guardrails in place from day one, Genworth chose Microsoft 365 Copilot as its AI foundation. Embedded in the tools employees already use, Copilot brings enterprise-grade security, compliance controls, and data protection, enabling teams to learn, experiment, and build AI confidence.

When understanding comes first, adoption follows 

At Genworth, people are the true differentiator.

“Our people have a real passion for what we do,” confirms Stefanie Schmitz, Senior Director of AI Enablement at Genworth. “They’re completely invested in making the aging process as graceful as possible, and in helping fill those later years with dignity and joy.”

That same sense of ownership became the driving force behind Genworth’s AI exploration.

Stefanie Schmitz continues, “It was the people here who recognized the opportunity for AI to move the organization forward. A small group kept persevering, repeating the message, showing what was possible, and helping others understand that it would be hard to evolve as a company without understanding AI and what it can do.”

To turn this momentum into meaningful adoption, Genworth addressed change creatively. The company launched Copilot pilots across multiple departments, supported by a structured 12-week coaching program, and worked closely with users to identify where Copilot could add value within their existing processes.  For example, in the Investments team, adoption was reinforced through subject-matter training during Copilot cohort sessions and open sharing of real use cases and lessons learned. Regular “Copilot Fridays” sustain results and spark continued experimentation.

Andrea Chase, AI Engagement and Adoption Leader, became one of the hands-on coaches working directly with teams across the business.

“Change isn’t easy,” reflects Andrea Chase. “Coaching helps people see the value in their own context, within their own roles and teams. And when you coach people week by week, they start sharing what works, and that word of mouth from trusted, credible sources is what really brings people on board.”

The impact quickly became visible. Employees leaned in. Adoption deepened. And leadership reinforced the shift from the top, including Tom McInerney, Chief Executive Officer at Genworth, who actively championed responsible AI adoption across the company.

"Genworth and CareScout exist to help families navigate aging with confidence. To deliver on that promise, we continuously modernize how we work. By reducing complexity and accelerating decision making, our teams can focus on what truly matters: showing up for families during some of life's hardest moments," says Tom McInerney.

Turning AI-confidence into tangible results

“Copilot is a real opportunity to help people rethink how they work, and how it can support them in their roles,” says Morris Taylor. “In the end, it’s about raising expectations for what technology should do to help us do our jobs better.”

As Copilot expanded across departments, teams began saving valuable time and supporting faster, better-informed decisions, especially in complex, high-stakes areas of the business.

For example, optimizing corporate bond selection for portfolio trades that once took days was reduced to hours. 

Morris Taylor explains, “Our Investments team is really embracing Copilot. It complements how they work end to end, and right now, they’re leading the charge when it comes to real business value.”

Looking ahead, Genworth is exploring how AI could support claims professionals to navigate some of the most sensitive moments in a customer's journey—when families are seeking care for the first time.

"Our claims professionals handle very delicate situations. Often, customers are taking a major step in their lives, moving toward additional care. We're exploring how AI could give our teams all the information they need, without forcing them to sift through 100-plus pages of policy documents," says Morris Taylor.

The organization envisions AI helping to summarize, surface, and contextualize information, making it easier for teams to understand benefits, process claims, and respond with speed and empathy.

Setting the stage for what’s next

Genworth is now looking ahead, exploring agentic AI in ways that extend value while maintaining the same governance-first mindset that guided its Copilot rollout.

The journey starts at an individual level. Genworth is enabling agent exploration for personal productivity, giving employees room to experiment while keeping oversight and responsibility front and center. To reinforce this approach, the organization upgraded to Microsoft 365 E5, providing advanced monitoring, security, and compliance capabilities.

“We’re encouraging agent exploration in a personal way. With Copilot Studio, people can create assistants that help them day to day. For example, some teams work with a lot of policies and documentation, and agents help make that information more accessible across teams,” explains Stefanie Schmitz.

And these agents are already delivering real value. In Genworth’s investments business, a SharePoint-based credit surveillance agent built by Amberjean Leist, Senior Alternative Assets Analyst, in collaboration with the team, now reviews more than 1,000 documents across 250-plus fund investments. 

“The agent helps the team surface trends, risks, and upside by leveraging the deep reviews we’ve already completed on individual funds and their holdings,” reflects Amberjean Leist. “It really supercharges our ability to zoom out and see the bigger picture.”

Beyond custom scenarios, Genworth teams are also using built‑in Copilot agents, including Researcher, Analyst, and Prompt Coach, across individual contributor and leadership roles.

“I personally use the Researcher agent all the time,” enthuses Morris Taylor. “These agents are incredibly powerful. They’re becoming an important part of how we think and work.”

Genworth is gradually building the groundwork for multi-agent orchestration and continues to focus on empowering its people and enhancing the experience for customers.

“Copilot is a powerful tool in our tool belt,” concludes Morris Taylor. “Our focus is to continue maximizing value—both for our associates and for our customers—while continuing to build responsibly.”

A practical blueprint for governed AI

As Genworth’s AI journey continues, the organization has distilled its experience into a repeatable framework.

1. Set the guardrails first
Innovation moves faster when expectations are clear. Establish boundaries upfront so teams can explore confidently, without uncertainty or risk.

2. Keep the conversation going
Adoption doesn’t happen in a single launch. Genworth made AI part of an ongoing dialogue, reinforcing its value, addressing concerns, and keeping momentum alive.

3. Lead by example, reward results
When leaders actively use AI, people follow. Visibility matters. So does recognizing the teams that drive innovation.

4. Build on progress, don’t pause at success
Early wins are just the beginning. Genworth continues to evolve its approach, expanding use cases, deepening adoption, and raising expectations over time.

5. Test, learn, adapt
Not every idea needs to scale, but every experiment should teach. Genworth fosters discovery and continuous improvement.

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