How AI-driven insights and process orchestration are shaping the future of banking

What’s the ultimate goal for modern banks? To build lasting primary relationships with customers while creating value. Yet, despite billions spent on digital transformation, many banks remain stuck in reactive mode, struggling to activate, engage, and grow their customer base.

In my keynote at Backbase ENGAGE Europe, I explored how banks can use AI and automation to break free from this cycle. By leveraging Backbase’s Intelligence Fabric and process orchestration capabilities, we enable financial institutions to deliver personalized experiences that enhance customer value and drive growth — all while turning data into actionable insights.

Digital-first challengers like Revolut and Chime are setting new standards. They’ve attracted tens of millions of customers by understanding their behaviors, offering tailored financial advice, and leveraging AI to deliver hyper-personalized experiences.

The good news? This isn’t exclusive to fintech disruptors. By embedding AI into the core of your banking operations, you too can build smarter, more proactive customer journeys that create loyalty and boost your bottom line.

Accenture estimates that AI could deliver up to a 30% efficiency boost across banking processes. But that’s just the beginning. The real opportunity lies in using AI to deepen customer relationships, grow wallet share, and unlock entirely new revenue streams.

AI isn’t about technology for technology’s sake — it’s about enhancing every step of the customer journey. Let’s break it down:

1. Acquiring customers with smarter tools

Why settle for “one-size-fits-all” onboarding? By integrating open banking data and leveraging AI-driven insights, banks can create hyper-relevant offers during account setup. For instance, using spending patterns to recommend a rewards card or suggesting personalized bundles based on financial goals ensures new customers feel understood from the start.

2. Activating accounts through personalization

Acquiring customers is just step one; the real challenge lies in activation. Unused accounts generate costs, not value. Our platform enables banks to personalize activation strategies, from promoting app features to encouraging wallet activation or offering tailored loyalty campaigns. These proactive nudges turn dormant accounts into engaged relationships.

3. Expanding relationships with precision

AI-driven analysis of spending behavior allows banks to deliver timely, relevant product recommendations. For example, promoting a sustainability-focused credit card to a customer who frequently shops at organic stores or highlighting a premium travel card to a frequent flyer.

4. Retaining customers with proactive engagement

Retaining customers is just as critical as acquiring them. By turning reactive processes into proactive experiences, banks can boost loyalty. Imagine an AI assistant that alerts a customer about an expiring term deposit and offers personalized renewal options — all before the customer even thinks to ask.

To unlock these possibilities, we’ve introduced the Backbase Intelligence Fabric — a powerful extension of our Engagement Banking Platform designed to harness the potential of AI and data.

Here’s what it offers:

• Unified data foundation: A lakehouse architecture that integrates seamlessly with our Grand Central Integration Fabric, ensuring all your customer and operational data is unified and accessible.

• AI and Machine Learning: Pre-built algorithms and support for large language models (like GPT and Meta’s Llama) enable everything from cash flow forecasting to conversational banking.

• Business intelligence tools: Easily connect to third-party dashboards (like Tableau) or build your own to track performance and generate actionable insights.

• AI guardrails: Stay compliant with evolving regulations while maintaining control over AI-driven processes.

This open-by-design platform combines enterprise-grade solutions with the flexibility of open-source innovation, empowering banks to co-create solutions tailored to their unique needs.

AI is no longer an experiment — it’s a necessity. By integrating AI and automation into your banking operations, you’ll unlock efficiencies, enhance customer experiences, and position your bank as a leader in the next era of financial services.

At Backbase, we’re building the tools to make this transformation achievable. But we’re not doing it alone. We invite you to co-innovate with us, sharing your challenges and priorities so we can build the solutions you need.