7 out of 10 banks worldwide plan to increase their investments in digital transformation by up to 10% by 2024. However, banks globally do not seem ready to embrace and scale the “smart” transformation, which involves the strategic application of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

In fact, only 6% of banks today have a structured roadmap in place to scale their digital transformation through artificial intelligence and are therefore ready to take full advantage of intelligent, AI-powered automation.

However, only 6% of banks already have an AI roadmap in place

61% of retail banking customers contacted agents because they were unhappy with chatbot analytics. Customer integration teams spend – currently – 91% of their time on operational and compliance activities

The 20th edition of Capgemini Research Institute’s Global Retail Banking Report reveals that 80% of bank executives believe that genetic artificial intelligence represents a major leap forward in advancing AI technology. The authors of the report, which was based on a survey of 250 banks around the world, point out that banks must act quickly to avoid an “AI failure”.

“As a result of macroeconomic uncertainty, many retail banks are being forced to make strategic decisions to address challenges to existing business models their”, the report states.

Intelligent banking future

The report finds that most banks are ill-prepared to thrive in an intelligent banking future. Globally, only 4% of retail banks scored highly on business engagement and technology capabilities, while 41% scored average, indicating a widespread lack of readiness to embrace and effectively implement smart transformation.

Regional disparities further highlight this issue. In North America, 27% of banks demonstrated low readiness, with European banks following at 31% and the Asia Pacific region lagging significantly behind, with 48% of banks scoring low.

“Focusing on ‘smart’ solutions, embedded in AI-based capabilities, will enable banks to respond to ongoing structural challenges, ultimately ensuring sustainable growth,” the study emphasizes.

The editors warn that “a year after genetic AI became a mainstream conversation, we see how banks risk being technologically left behind if they don’t quickly adopt solutions and prepare to take advantage of its potential GenAI“.