NEW YORK–Nearly half of all bank executives are predicting that generative AI will be able to handle between 21% and 40% of their teams’ daily tasks by the end of the year, according to a new study from KPMG.
The forecast comes at the same time the nation’s biggest banks are making equally big investments in artificial intelligence, with six in 10 bank execs telling KPMG that generative AI is a top investment priority this year, despite economic uncertainty.
The April KPMG report polled 200 U.S. bank executives at firms large and small in March on the tech investments their organizations are making. Fifty-seven percent said generative AI is an integral part of their long-term vision for fueling innovation and remaining relevant, according to KPMG.
“Banks are walking a tightrope of rapidly advancing their AI agendas while working to better define the value of their investments,” Peter Torrente, KPMG’s U.S. sector leader for its banking and capital markets practice, states in the report.
The survey found half of executives polled said their banks are actively piloting using generative AI in fraud detection and financial forecasting; 34% said that about cybersecurity. Fraud and cybersecurity are most common at the proof-of-concept stage (both 45%), followed by financial forecasting (20%), the survey found.
Other Findings
Other findings include:
- About 78% are actively using generative AI or piloting its use for security or fraud prevention
- 21% are considering it.
- 85% are turning to generative AI for data-driven insights or personalization.
Banks are also thinking about using generative AI to better inform their sales forces, bolster analytics, enhance product development or personalize the customer experience, Torrente said in the report.
The Early Innings
Torrente said it’s still “early innings” for how generative AI will be used in production, but that will advance over the next year.
By the end of the year, about three-quarters of the executives polled by KPMG expect generative AI will be able to handle between 6% and 40% of their teams’ daily tasks.
More than half of bank executives KPMG polled said fintech rivals are prompting them to evolve their offerings.
“Those that have gotten out ahead without taking compliance and legal and risk along for the journey have had to double back,” Torrente said.
Banking Dive noted in its analysis of the KPMG survey that with fraud detection, for example, the next steps would include routing information to the right people and sending an alert to those who need to take action or start another process, he said.
The Big Tool
Training employees on using new tools or software is “a big element of all of this, to get the benefits out of the technology, as well as to make sure that you’re upskilling your employees,” according to Torrente.
Many banks, particularly larger lenders, are already investing in such training as they deploy various AI tools, Torrente said, but it’s something banks of all sizes should prioritize, as customer expectations evolve and smaller banks strive to remain competitive, according to KPMG.
