Artificial Intelligence Adoption in the Banking Industry: Current State and Future Prospect

Abstract

AI adoption in the banking industry is a necessity not only to gain a competitive advantage within the industry but more importantly to defend the bank versus technological disruptors that are trying to gain ground in service areas that were previously dominated by banks. This study aims to analyze the current state of AI adoption in the banking industry through a systematic review of related literature. Using the SCOPUS database, thirty-five studies were identified that are relevant to this study. While the number of studies is on increasing trend, the focus of existing literature is predominantly on the customers' and the banks' perspectives. Studies from the regulators' and service providers' perspectives are still sparse despite the importance of these two actors in the adoption of AI in the banking industry. The application of AI has permeated wide areas of the banking function expanding beyond the use of chatbots. Improving customer experience, increasing profitability, and improving competitiveness drive the adoption of AI by banks while people-related issues, technology-related issues, and regulatory-compliance issues deter banks from fully embracing AI. Transparency of algorithms, data privacy, data protection, and fair use of data are the main concerns both of regulators and customers. Results of this study point to the need for more empirical and theoretical research on the regulatory perspective of AI adoption in the banking industry, how to harness the strength of service providers to enable wider and more effective adoption of AI, how institutions can help increase the talent pool for AI-driven technologies, and how to strengthen the synergistic cooperation of the various actors in the adoption of AI in the banking industry.