Barclays, Citi and HSBC are all exploring AI, and representatives of the three banks are sharing how to identify where to invest in the tech.

When should banks start implementing AI?  

“Yesterday,” was the response by EJ Achtner, global head of AI for commercial banking at HSBC, at last week’s “Global ideas for better banking AI” webinar, presented by Bank Automation News. 

At HSBC, AI implementation is well underway, with nearly 1,000 applications of the tech across its 62 markets, Achtner said. To innovate with AI, the bank has several proof-of-concepts in place today.  

“It’s what you would expect around how you unlock knowledge in an organization or how you streamline or re-envision different processes to take advantage of newer, more advanced models,” he said. 

The bank has identified some generative AI applications that it’s “rapidly scaling into,” Achtner added. 

3 verticals

Citi, too, has put AI into action across the bank and approaches its implementation through three verticals:  

• Client engagement;  
• Operational enablement; and  
• Risk and controls organization. 

Prag Sharma, global head of AI at Citi, said during the webinar that AI has the potential to accelerate engagement with clients, improve internal touch points and help Citi keep up with compliance. 

To determine where to implement AI within the bank, Citi looks to its subject-matter experts, he said. The subject matter experts and technology teams find common ground for problem-solving, including identifying which technology, including AI, will resolve issues most efficiently. 

“You really need the right expertise and the right focus to execute,” Sharma said.  

Early days of AI

Barclays also has identified AI use cases, including:  

• Streamlining operational efficiency;  
• Analyzing unstructured data; and  
• Improving chatbot capabilities. 

Jennifer Warren, head of market digital strategy at Barclays, said during the webinar that exploring generative AI means that “more and more of those use cases will come that we haven’t really thought about yet,” she said. 

All three institutions said they are exploring AI strategy and implementation with testing, partnerships and in-house research.  

“There are no experts in this space. … We are all learning, we’re all testing,” HSBC’s Achtner said.