Ping An’s award-winning AI revolution: Transforming the future of insurance
David Wei, General Manager of Golden Butler at Ping An Life, shares how Ping An is driving innovation and digital transformation through its “AI in ALL” strategy.
How is AI reshaping the future of insurance? In this interview, David Wei, General Manager of Golden Butler at Ping An Life, shares how Ping An is driving innovation and digital transformation through its “AI in ALL” strategy.
Following the company’s recognition in the Transformative Innovator of the Year category at the 2026 Qorus Innovation in Insurance Awards, Wei discusses how Ping An is embedding AI across its business, empowering insurance agents, enhancing customer experiences, and translating innovation into tangible value.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us more about your role at Ping An?
My name is David Wei, and I am the General Manager of Golden Butler at Ping An Life. My team and I sit at the intersection of technology and business, building innovative platforms that empower our agents and serve our customers. Our work is guided by Ping An Life's 'AI in ALL' strategy, as we strive to become a globally leading intelligent insurance company. This means moving beyond the traditional, product-centric sales model toward a customer lifecycle ecosystem that integrates insurance, health, and elderly-care services, and embedding AI across the entire value chain.
As last year, Ping An won the Gold Award in the Transformative Innovator of the Year category, following a vote by insurance leaders from around the world. What does this award mean to you and your innovation team?
First and foremost, I would like to thank Qorus for providing a world-class platform through which innovation can be shared with a global audience. This award means a great deal to us. To be recognized once again by insurance leaders from around the world is both an honor and a humbling reminder of the responsibility we carry.
For my innovation team, it is above all a validation of our long-standing commitment to innovation and transformation — proof that our customer-centric, technology-driven approach is on the right track. It also strengthens our conviction that innovation must create genuine value for customers and the industry, rather than being pursued for its own sake. Above all, it gives us renewed energy to keep pushing boundaries.
What was also particularly impressive was the number of highly innovative projects you presented this year. Could you tell us how transformation and innovation are organized at Ping An?
Innovation at Ping An is not a one-off initiative, but a deeply embedded part of how we operate. We organize our transformation around clear strategic priorities — driving business growth, safeguarding security and stability, and supporting business operations.
Under strong leadership and cross-functional collaboration, we follow four core principles: value-driven growth, service innovation, technology leadership, and compliance and risk control. It is precisely this systematic approach that allows us to deliver a steady stream of innovative projects year after year, and to ensure that transformation moves both quickly and steadily.
We can also see the importance of AI across these projects. How does Ping An approach AI?
AI lies at the very heart of our innovation strategy. We approach it with a clear, customer-centric mindset, applying it where it can create the most meaningful value — enhancing customer experience, improving agent productivity, and strengthening risk management.
We have built a comprehensive AI ecosystem. Across intelligent marketing, operations, execution, management, and service, we have launched a wide range of initiatives — from AI sales assistants and digital employees to AI-powered claims and intelligent customer service. Importantly, we combine this with rigorous governance, ensuring that our AI is responsible, compliant, and trustworthy.
Having an AI-ready workforce is challenging. How do you drive widespread adoption of AI across your workforce?
We firmly believe that technology only creates value when it is genuinely put to use. Through our 'AI + Talent' strategy, we have deeply integrated workforce development with intelligent transformation.
Our agents have evolved from traditional sales roles into 'Insurance & Wellness Butlers', combining financial advisory, elderly-care coordination, and basic health guidance. Through a series of measures, we have encouraged our employees to shift from being 'operators' to becoming 'designers and supervisors', working hand-in-hand with AI agents. We also invest continuously in training, so that the adoption of AI becomes a natural part of daily work rather than a disruption.
Innovation and transformation can help address some of the challenges a company faces. What are the biggest challenges facing Ping An’s innovation teams today?
Like many organizations, we face the challenge of striking a balance between speed and stability. We wish to innovate quickly, yet our systems must remain secure, reliable, and fully compliant with increasingly stringent regulatory requirements.
Another key challenge is talent — identifying and nurturing people who combine technical excellence with a deep understanding of the business.
Finally, we remain disciplined in ensuring that every innovation translates into measurable value for both our customers and the business. These challenges keep us focused, and we embrace them as an integral part of our journey.
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