Financial services organizations—banks, insurers, and asset managers—are at a pivotal crossroads. Decades of incremental technology investments have left many with a tangled web of legacy systems, siloed data, and mounting technical debt. This burden is more than a technical liability; it’s a strategic threat that hinders innovation, operational efficiency, and the ability to deliver secure, personalized experiences at scale. As the industry faces rising customer expectations, regulatory complexity, and relentless digital disruption, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as the catalyst capable of breaking through these barriers and enabling true enterprise-scale transformation.
Through extensive industry engagement and executive roundtables, five critical forms of “debt” have been identified as the primary barriers to AI-driven modernization in financial services:
Addressing these debts holistically is essential for rapid, sustainable AI value creation. Publicis Sapient’s work with leading institutions demonstrates how tackling these debts—by building AI/ML catalogs, modernizing data infrastructure, and driving new business models—lays the foundation for enterprise-scale AI adoption.
AI is not just another tool in the modernization toolkit—it is the catalyst capable of dismantling even the most persistent forms of tech debt. Over 80% of senior executives in financial services believe AI is the breakthrough needed to overcome entrenched technical debt. However, technology alone is not enough. Success demands a shift in mindset, delivery models, and operating architecture.
A key insight is the emergence of “services-as-software”—a new paradigm where technology, not just people, delivers services. AI-led service models enable faster innovation, operational agility, cost savings, and enhanced customer and employee experiences. They also support proactive risk management and regulatory compliance, which are critical in a sector where compliance failures can have severe financial and reputational consequences.
AI-driven modernization is already delivering measurable impact across the financial services value chain:
Customer expectations in financial services have never been higher. AI enables hyper-personalization—tailoring products, services, and interactions to individual needs and behaviors. Banks and insurers are deploying AI-powered recommendation engines, proactive service bots, and omnichannel experiences that build trust and loyalty. These innovations require robust data strategies and secure, compliant platforms.
Despite the promise of AI, many financial institutions remain stuck in the experimentation phase. Key barriers include:
To move from pilots to production, financial services leaders must:
Publicis Sapient’s SPEED model—Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering, and Data & AI—provides a holistic framework for AI-driven modernization. By connecting business strategy with technology execution and customer experience, this approach ensures that transformation is actionable, compliant, and sustainable.
Strategic partnerships with technology leaders such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft further accelerate modernization, enabling secure, scalable, and industry-specific solutions. Proprietary platforms like Sapient Slingshot and Bodhi empower financial institutions to automate the software development lifecycle, modernize legacy systems, and scale AI adoption with confidence.
Publicis Sapient’s work with leading financial institutions demonstrates the tangible benefits of AI-driven modernization:
The future belongs to financial institutions that can break free from tech debt and harness AI as a driver of innovation, efficiency, and customer value. By addressing technology, data, process, skills, and cultural debts in tandem, banks, insurers, and asset managers can move from incremental change to enterprise-scale transformation.
Publicis Sapient stands as a trusted partner for this journey—combining deep industry expertise, proven frameworks, and a relentless focus on outcomes. With AI as the catalyst, financial services organizations can rewrite the rules of modernization and lead the next wave of industry innovation.
Ready to smash through tech debt? Let’s talk about your modernization journey.