AI Changed Banking
AI has already changed the game in banking
AI is changing banking at a structural level, reshaping not only how banks operate, but also how they engage with their customers and nurture those relationships. The question is no longer whether or not this transformation is coming – the focus is now on how quickly and effectively banks adapt.
As IBM’s AI Transformation Leader UKI, Sebastian Weir, noted: AI is advancing faster than most organizations can keep up with. Those successfully progressing from pilot to production, however, are not chasing every new development; they are focusing on the changes that matter the most to their organization – whether that’s customer experience, employee experience, customer outcomes, or core systems. “It’s very easy to get distracted by the latest frontier technology,” he said, “but that’s not where change sits”. Instead, real transformation stems from how organizations embrace and apply technology.
Change sits with embracing technology, understanding it and using a combination of traditional machine learning AI technologies applied to generative and agentic capabilities to give you auditability, accountability and trust.
Sebastian Weir
AI Transformation Lead UKI, IBM
Transformation of this magnitude also requires strong, consistent leadership. Banks must clearly demonstrate how AI is changing not just their technology, but how they think and work. This is essential to building trust and ensuring that employees truly understand and are equipped to embrace AI.
Now is the time to act. Research suggests that banks that consistently optimize customer experience grow 3.2 times faster than those that do not.[1] Not only are banks under pressure in that respect, but they are also hard-pressed to accelerate time to market and maintain sustainable costs at a time when the competitive threat from digital-native players and other fintechs continues to intensify.
Historically, these priorities have involved trade-offs, with better experiences coming at a higher cost and faster delivery potentially compromising quality or control. But as AI changes how experiences are designed, built and run, banks can now pursue all three at the same time. Solutions like Conversational Studio are leveling the playing field between incumbents and digital natives – but the real pressure is no longer just from digital challengers, but from peers who are moving faster.
[1]https://www.zendesk.co.uk/blog/customer-experience/expectations/customer-experience-in-banking/#georedirect
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