Sun Life Financial Inc. has been recognized as a 2025 CIO Awards Canada winner for its GenAI-powered virtual agent, Iris. This marks the second consecutive year the company has received this honor, which is given to Canadian organizations using IT in innovative ways to deliver business value.
Iris is an internal service desk assistant that uses generative and Agentic AI technologies to help employees with tasks such as password resets, software requests, and ticket status updates. Integrated into Sun Life’s existing systems and workflows, Iris allows employees to resolve common issues quickly while freeing up service desk agents for more complex cases.
According to Sun Life, Iris has reduced average service desk resolution time by 83% and resolved over 80% of employee questions in under two minutes. Since its launch, the agent has completed more than 9,000 password resets and handled approximately 10,000 employee queries. The company projects annual savings of over 24,000 hours for both employees and agents combined.
"This recognition is a testament to the power of responsible innovation and how it can be leveraged to deliver Client and employee impact," said Laura Money, Executive Vice-President, Chief Information and Technology Innovation Officer at Sun Life. "Iris combines the power of GenAI and Agentic AI with practical application – delivering real time value for our employees while creating a blueprint for how we can apply GenAI to deliver enhanced productivity at scale across Sun Life globally and for our Clients."
The company plans to expand the use of similar AI tools across all contact centres globally. The goal is to improve interactions with clients by providing faster and more personalized digital experiences. As new features are introduced, Iris will be able to handle increasingly complex needs.
"With measurable gains in efficiency, satisfaction and speed, Iris is a tangible example of how Sun Life is delivering on its innovation agenda," adds Money. "By putting advanced technology like this at the centre of everything we do, we are safely and responsibly leveraging GenAI and Agentic AI to enhance operational efficiency while creating a foundation for broader digital transformation to meet the future needs of our employees and Clients."
In addition to Iris, Sun Life recently launched Advisor Notes Assistant—a GenAI tool designed to streamline advisor workflows by reducing administrative effort per meeting by 15-30 minutes.
Sun Life operates internationally with offerings in asset management, wealth management, insurance, and health solutions across several markets including Canada, the United States, Asia-Pacific countries such as Japan and India, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia as well as Bermuda. As of June 30, 2025 the company reported total assets under management of $1.54 trillion (https://www.sunlife.com).
The CIO Awards Canada recognize organizations that create competitive advantages or optimize processes through innovative use of IT. International Data Corporation (IDC), which provides market intelligence on technology sectors worldwide (https://www.idc.com), supports these awards alongside CIO magazine (https://www.cio.com/).
All financial figures are stated in Canadian dollars.