NN Group's Two-Minute Company: AI Strategy Beyond Hype

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When a customer applies for a mortgage at 11 PM, waiting until business hours isn't just inconvenient—it's lost revenue and competitive disadvantage. NN Group's Chief Analytics Officer Tjerrie Smit is solving this by building what he calls "the two-minute company," where AI-agents handle complex processes instantly, any time of day.

First AI Movers: Tjerrie Smit, Chief Analytics Officer at NN Group

"The Two-Minute Company"

For Tjerrie Smit, Chief Analytics Officer at NN Group, the core of the NN Group AI strategy isn't about deploying AI everywhere — it's about deploying it where it matters most.

AI-Agents: Powerful, But Not a Universal Solution

Smit is clear-eyed about where AI-agents deliver real value. Not every process needs intelligence — some are simple decision trees that work perfectly well on their own. But when complexity enters the picture, AI-agents become transformative.

Consider a customer who finishes an evening shift at 11 PM and wants to apply for a mortgage. Traditionally, that request waits until business hours. With AI-agents, NN Group is working toward handling that process efficiently and in a user-friendly way — any time of day. The same logic applies to insurance claims and other customer inquiries.

Smit has a vivid internal shorthand for this vision: the two-minute company — an organization where customers can manage their affairs in just a few minutes, fast and convenient, whenever they want.

Large Language Models: Not Optional

The rise of Large Language Models has reset consumer expectations. People experience the power of conversational AI daily, and they now expect the same fluency and ease from their financial service providers. For Smit, this makes adoption a necessity, not a choice.

The technology enables a complete redesign of both customer-facing services and backend operations. But Smit offers a nuanced take on competitive advantage: AI won't provide a lasting edge. At most, early movers gain a first-mover advantage — and NN Group intends to be among them.

People Before Technology: The Core of NN Group's AI Strategy

Perhaps the most striking part of NN Group's approach is how firmly it centers on people. Smit emphasizes that success isn't determined by the technology itself but by how employees interact with it.

NN Group has launched an AI literacy program spanning all 16,000 employees—a commitment that mirrors enterprise-scale AI Training for Teams. The training goes beyond teaching people how to use AI tools — it connects the technology to NN's broader transformation strategy and, crucially, to what it means for each individual employee. How can you contribute? How does your role evolve?

The principle of lifelong learning has been part of NN's culture for years, but AI has accelerated it dramatically. Smit also notes an unexpected catalyst: widespread media coverage of AI developments has raised public awareness, which NN sees reflected in strong internal demand for its training programs.