How banks can achieve AI transformation success

Financial institution executives often face significant headwinds to plan and execute AI transformations. These organizations have often amassed thousands of organically built processes over years of successful growth and mergers. Getting a complete inventory of human and automated tasks can be difficult, and well-defined processes and controls are cornerstones to maintaining customer trust.

AI systems are already having dramatic impacts in adjacent industries, like software development. There, individual team members are multiplying their impact by leveraging State of the Art (SOTA) AI tools that broaden knowledge access and automate manual work. An AI system with sufficient understanding can even propose new higher efficiency operating models and help create plans to achieve them. The potential of AI to transform work is unquestionable.

Drive transformation confidently with SOTA AI

PwC’s new innovation, part of the Risk Link AI Studio module, applies SOTA AI agents and tools to help financial services executives build and execute effective AI transformation plans with help from their PwC team.  

The journey begins with discovery. The capability uses guided AI interviews to understand organizational priorities, key constraints, and tools currently used. Leaders can delegate discover activities throughout their organization for depth and scale. The system then combs through information it gathers, including Q&A answers, Excel files, process maps, documented policies, and even pictures of brain dumps taken on the whiteboard to create a model of current business operations.

Once the business has been mapped, PwC’s AI-powered solution compares current operations to an ideal configuration. It recommends processes by drawing from a specialized knowledgebase developed using PwC benchmarks and leading global economic and workforce research. The system contains thousands of job processes specifically tailored for AI first financial institutions. Using this information, the system proposes a future operating model including workforce alignment, skills required, and tools and agents they can leverage to do work. The tool also provides a detailed breakdown of operating cost of the proposed system as compared to current approaches. Clients can propose changes or updates using simple natural language to receive an updated plan.

PwC teams participate throughout the process. Clients typically participate in one or two 90-minute workshops to get started with the tool. When it comes time to implement the transformation strategy, PwC leverages its overall suite of professionals to help deliver solutions. For example, a client may get access to existing PwC agents and tools, get custom tailored agents built specifically for their workflows, and leverage advice from legal and policy experts. 

What this can deliver

This approach enables clients to confidently execute AI transformation:

• Accelerates AI transformation analysis work from weeks to a few hours

• Provides accurate estimates of potential operational efficiency gains 

• Clarifies financial impact levers for decisionmakers

PwC’s new innovation brings AI transformation leaders clarity about their current operating structures, opportunities to enhance work using AI, and tools to execute their vision to help achieve more effective operations.