Barely One In 10 Retail Banks Have Built Al-Driven Enterprise Roadmap: Capgemini

Barely one in 10 retail banks has built an AI-driven enterprise roadmap, even though 80% of their executives believe that generative artificial intelligence represents a significant leap in advancing AI technology, according to Capgemini Research Institute.

When it comes to technology, 70% of bank chief experience officers plan to increase investment in digital transformation by up to 10% in 2024. Yet, the report found that banks are not ready to adopt AI-driven reorganisation, which involves the application of technologies like AI, machine learning and generative AI.

According to the report, only 4% of retail banks achieved a high score on business commitment and technology capabilities, while 41% scored average, indicating a lack of readiness to adopt and implement intelligent transformation. 

Among the surveyed banks, just 6% have established key performance indicators to measure AI impact and continuous monitoring. More than 60% of banks are still identifying and developing KPIs, while 26% of banks that have already set up some KPIs are not measuring them.

“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 at Capgemini. “Success will come down to developing a roadmap that balances hype with a pragmatic, traceable and measurable approach,” Vaidya said.

The report suggested that Gen AI has potential for improving efficiency and customer experience across the retail banking value chain. Over two in three (70%) bank employees are focused on operational activities and 91% on customer onboarding teams, leaving little time for customer interactions.

Bank employees reported enthusiasm about Gen AI copilots’ potential to automate fraud detection, data visualisation and analytics, as well as drafting and sending personalised content to customers. According to the report, banks could optimise up to 66% of the time spent on operations, documentation, compliance and other onboarding-related activities through AI-enabled systems.

The report also found that customers are dissatisfied with chatbots. Nearly two in three (61%) bank customers contacted agents because they were unhappy with chatbot resolutions, while 17% simply distrusted chatbots and preferred human agents.

Traditional rule-based chatbots lack the flexibility and adaptability of advanced AI-driven systems. According to the report, banks should create intelligent contact centres that leverage chatbots with conversational AI capabilities and intelligent copilots to assist agents.