While the financial sector has always been a prime target for automation, a recent report suggests banks are not making the leap with the relatively newer generative AI technology. In its annual World Banking Report, global research firm and consultancy Capgemini said only six percent of retail banks even have a roadmap for enterprise-wide AI-driven transformation at scale.
Generative AI, which has become a popular technology very quickly since the introduction of ChatGPT to the public 16 months ago, is particularly challenging for the financial services industry, the report said. Despite the obvious opportunities available to leverage the tech (e.g., customer onboarding teams are spending 91 percent of their time on operational and compliance issues) the report said that only four percent of retail banks are ready to take advantage of intelligent automation solutions that feature generative AI.
“One year after generative AI cemented itself as a core boardroom conversation, we’re seeing how banks risk becoming technological laggards if they aren’t rapidly adopting solutions and preparing to take advantage of its capabilities,” said Nilesh Vaidya, Global Industry Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management at Capgemini. “Generative AI can have a lighthouse effect when used responsibly and wisely across operations. There is also a need for increased efforts on making gen AI explainable and appropriately transparent. The time to act is now to establish practices that build much-needed trust and customer intimacy. Success will come down to developing a roadmap that balances hype with a pragmatic, traceable and measurable approach.”
More than 80 percent of bank employees polled by Capgemini for the report indicated only “moderate” effectiveness of automation implementations across onboarding, lending marketing and contact center functions. They showed the most enthusiasm about generative AI copilots’ potential to automate fraud detection, data visualization and analytics, as well as drafting and sending personalized content to customers.
