Process automation is widely recognized as a significant priority. A strong majority across both groups acknowledges its importance, with consensus on its potential to enhance efficiency. However, young professionals would prioritize automation to an even greater extent than seasoned professionals. Notably, 51% of young professionals rated process improvement and automation as highly important for the next 12 months, with a further 43% affording it the highest degree of importance, compared to 65% of seasoned professionals who rated it as highly important and 11% who said it was of very high importance.
The stronger emphasis on this topic by younger professionals is likely to be twofold. Besides being potentially more open to new technological solutions, the younger generation may be closer to the daily business where process inefficiencies are more visible and the business case for automation even clearer.
Future role of AI in banking
AI is widely seen as a transformative force, and it is considered a very high priority by both young and seasoned professionals. However, generational perspectives on its implementation vary. Over half (65%) of young professionals report that their organization had already successfully implemented AI-based applications or were running first pilot projects. Among seasoned professionals, the figure was just 33%. This suggests a difference in awareness of initiatives – or perceptions of their maturity – between the generations.
In terms of where to use AI-based applications in banking, around two-thirds (67%) of respondents in both groups agreed that process automation was the most important. Differences in opinion were seen in IT development and data management, however, with around half of young professionals seeing it as an obvious candidate for AI compared to just 28% of seasoned professionals.
Overall, younger professionals are more inclined to support AI adoption, while experienced professionals remain slightly more cautious. While this result is not unexpected, it is likely that the impact on AI adoption will become more pronounced over time as more younger employees enter the workforce.
Positive outlook
The insights from our survey offer a glimpse into how different generations within the industry perceive their future, while also raising thought-provoking follow-up questions:
- How do these industry perspectives align with customer sentiment?
- What implications do differing expectations have for banks as employers?
- How can both young and experienced banking professionals stay ahead in an era of rapid, AI-driven transformation?
The banking industry is undoubtedly entering a period of transformation. Despite many uncertainties about the future of banking, 100% of young professionals and 85% of seasoned professionals remain optimistic.
