Manulife has announced that it has selected Adaptive ML to provide advanced model fine-tuning technology as part of its enterprise AI platform. The partnership brings Adaptive ML’s reinforcement learning–powered engine into Manulife’s AI ecosystem, enabling the company to fine-tune, evaluate, and deploy open-source small language models tailored specifically for enterprise use.
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The integration will allow Manulife to continuously adapt its AI models in real time using new data and user feedback, helping improve accuracy, efficiency, and customer experience. Adaptive ML’s technology uses reinforcement learning to optimize models against specific business objectives, ensuring AI systems become more effective over time while remaining cost-efficient. This approach complements Manulife’s existing use of large language models by enabling more targeted, specialized models for defined use cases.
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Jodie Wallis, Global Chief AI Officer at Manulife, said the partnership supports the company’s ambition to remain at the forefront of enterprise AI adoption. She noted that combining large language models with fine-tuned specialist models will help Manulife deliver faster, more accurate solutions while balancing performance and cost efficiency. According to Wallis, becoming an AI-powered organization is a core pillar of Manulife’s enterprise strategy, aimed at driving growth and enhancing customer outcomes.
The multi-year agreement will initially focus on practical, high-impact use cases such as automating underwriting quotes, streamlining complex operational processes, and supporting sales professionals with intelligent insights. These early deployments are expected to accelerate broader AI adoption across the organization by improving scalability and reducing time to production.
Julien Launay, CEO of Adaptive ML, said the collaboration demonstrates how regulated industries can responsibly deploy AI at scale. He emphasized that general-purpose language models are not designed for enterprise production environments and that Manulife’s decision to deploy specialized agents powered by Adaptive ML’s reinforcement learning engine provides greater reliability, control, and long-term cost efficiencies across its global operations.
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The partnership also reinforces Manulife’s commitment to Responsible AI and sustainability. By relying on fine-tuned small language models rather than energy-intensive general-purpose models, Manulife expects to reduce overall energy consumption while maintaining high performance standards. This aligns with the company’s publicly stated Responsible AI Principles.
Shamus Weiland, Chief Information Officer at Manulife, added that AI is now embedded across nearly every part of the business. He said Adaptive ML’s technology will help teams move faster, remove friction for customers, and deliver scalable, responsible AI solutions that generate measurable value.
Manulife’s leadership in AI was recently recognized when the company was ranked the number one life insurer for AI maturity in the inaugural Evident AI Index for Insurance. The recognition reflects nearly a decade of sustained investment in AI capabilities, which began in 2016 and continues to shape Manulife’s customer-centric innovation strategy.
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