Upskilling and Data Foundations: Financial firms prepare for Gen AI breakthroughs in 2025
By Robert Marchiori (pictured), CEO of Cognizant Australia
2025 will be the year financial firms realise that if they want to make the most of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI), they need to lay the groundwork. This means many firms will focus on upskilling staff, getting the proper data foundation, and preparing for future regulatory changes. Once these considerations have been made, we can expect to see real use cases of Gen AI begin to emerge.
It’s time to upskill
Cognizant’s recent research The AI advantage: why ANZ is positioned for gen AI success ANZ businesses shows that optimism about businesses ability to adopt the Gen AI is 15% higher in ANZ, than the global average. In financial services, this is going to focus on roles like contact centre agents and bank tellers, but workers should not think that this means they are going to be replaced. In many cases, Gen AI will be used to augment their roles and make them more productive. However, to achieve this goal, firms also need to upskill workers. Considering that 32% of financial institutions identified skills as a major obstacle in achieving their AI goals, it is crucial this process starts as soon as possible.
Throughout 2025, financial firms will focus on ensuring the workforce has the right diversity of skills to truly make use of new Gen AI tools. For example, strong soft skills like critical thinking, creativity and communication will become vital to identify new problems and use cases where Gen AI can add value.
Build the right data foundation
The success of innovative AI applications hinges on the quality and accessibility of data. Many ANZ BFSI organisations recognise this, with nearly 60% identifying data accessibility as a key challenge. To scale AI initiatives, organisations must prioritise data unification and integration across distributed systems. By addressing data-related bottlenecks, organisations can unlock the full potential of AI, starting with immediate productivity gains and gradually progressing to more complex applications.
There is no need for firms to panic yet, with 2025 and 2026 predicted to be years when banks are still experimenting and preparing their operations for more widespread adoption of Gen AI. Still, financial firms should not delay any further. Organisations need to start work now to clarify their data capability pathways. By creating a strong structure, firms will ensure data, both inside and outside the network, is stored and accessed in the right way to be of use. In this process, firms must also offer more transparency around how AI systems are using this data to reach their decisions.
While structured data supports BFSI, tapping into unstructured data can unlock immense AI value. However, poorly implemented models risk damaging customer trust. Clean internal data, paired with select external sources, forms a solid foundation for AI. Although external market data may not directly boost model accuracy, it helps adjust models for shifting trends.
Actual use cases will emerge
As financial firms put the groundwork above in place, it will become more apparent as to where Gen AI can add value. For example, 17% of financial workers view Gen AI as an opportunity for their businesses to create new products or services.
Financial firms will also move from the traditional approach of focusing on a single modality, whether language, image or sounds, to newer models that will seamlessly combine all of them. This will unlock more creative and adaptable use cases across the business as a whole.
Looking ahead
Gen AI is at an inflection point; however, financial firms should not put off starting their journey toward full adoption. The following year will be foundational in ensuring they will become a modern, competitive business powered by Gen AI. Firms that fail to listen to these trends will fall behind the rest of the pack.
