7 Things That Surprised Me About AI Adoption in UK Fintech

I expected to find lots of conversations about technology. Instead, I found something much more interesting. After reading FCA guidance, industry reports and case studies from challenger banks, lenders, insurers and wealth firms, one thing became really clear. 

 

The conversation isn't really about AI, it's about solving better business problems (“Hooray! A sector that finally gets it,” I thought!). 

 

The firms getting the greatest value aren't chasing technology because it's new. They’re not chasing AI because it’s going to save them headcount - they're using it to solve specific customer and operational challenges. And I think that's an important distinction. So, here are the seven lessons that stood out to me. 

 

1. AI isn’t where I’d start. 

This was probably the first thing that made me stop and think. When we talk about AI, it's easy to jump straight to technology. 

 

 

But the organisations seeing the greatest value don't appear to be starting there. They're starting with a business problem and helping customers get answers more quickly (both areas I’ve been advising my clients for the past few years). 

 

 

The AI comes afterwards. That really resonated with me because it's exactly the same approach I'd take with any business transformation. It reminded me that good businesses have always started in the same place. 

 

👉🏻 They identify a problem worth solving. 

 

👉🏻They understand who it's affecting. 

 

👉🏻Then they decide how best to solve it. 

 

Sometimes that's AI, sometimes it isn't. 

 

If you read the headlines, it's easy to come away thinking AI is all about cutting costs, replacing people and making businesses more efficient. To some extent that’s true. But I don’t think that’s the real story. 

 

One thing that really stood out was that, regardless of the business, CEOs were saying very similar things. AI wasn't about replacing people, it was about helping them do their jobs better. 

 

The more I read, the more I realised this wasn't really a story about AI replacing people at all. It was a story about giving people better tools to do their jobs (I’ll admit I was quite relieved to discover that fact - for year's I've been talking about AI augmenting the human experience!). 

 

 

That felt like a much healthier conversation. Perhaps FinTech is actually showing other industries what responsible AI adoption looks like! It's not about replacing human judgement, it's about giving people better tools. 

 

In fact, quite the opposite. I’ll be honest, I expected to find pages of new AI regulations. Instead, I found something quite different. The FCA isn’t introducing an AI rulebook, but it’s asking firms to make sure AI fits within the regulations they already have. 

 

 

To me, that's a really pragmatic approach. The FCA isn't saying, "Don't use AI." It's saying, "Use it responsibly and make sure customers continue to receive good outcomes." 

 

In other words, the technology may be changing, but the responsibility isn't. 

 

One phrase kept popping into my head as I was researching. Just because we can automate something, should we? The firms seeing the greatest success don't seem to be measuring AI by how clever it is. They're measuring it by what it improves. 

 

 

To me, that's a much better definition of success. One thing I found particularly encouraging was seeing how AI is already being used to identify vulnerable customers more effectively, making sure they're routed to the right people when they need extra support. 

 

To me, that's AI adding value in exactly the right place. And the more examples I read, the more I realised nobody seemed to be measuring AI by how clever it was. They were measuring it by whether it actually made something better. 

 

This one really made me smile because it links so closely to the work I've done throughout my career. If a customer journey is confusing today...adding AI won't magically fix it. 

 

If communication is poor...AI won't suddenly create trust. 

 

If processes are inconsistent...AI will often expose those weaknesses rather than solve them. 

 

The strongest examples I found all had one thing in common - they were improving journeys that already had a clear purpose, AI just made them better. It didn't rescue a poor experience. 

 

So what this is basically saying, make sure that your journeys have a really clear purpose and deliver on what they need to for your customer, before even thinking about implementing any AI tools. 

 

6. The biggest challenges aren't the technology. 

Before I started this research, I assumed the biggest barriers would be technical. Actually, they weren't. The biggest challenges were things like: 

 

 

In many ways, they're the same challenges businesses have always faced, AI just shines a spotlight on them. That struck me because it reinforces something I've believed for a long time. Growth doesn't create the cracks, it reveals them. 

 

Perhaps AI does exactly the same thing. 

 

After all this research, I found myself coming back to one simple thought. Instead of asking, “How can we use AI?”, perhaps we should be asking, “Which customer problem are we trying to solve?” 

 

Or even better...“Which customer moments matter most?” Because not every interaction has the same impact. 

 

Some moments build trust. Some reduce effort. Some increase confidence. Some prevent customers leaving. 

 

Those are the places I'd start. Technology should support those moments, not define them. 

 

When I started this research, I thought I was writing about AI. By the end, I realised I wasn't, I was writing about customer outcomes. 

 

Because the businesses getting the greatest value from AI aren't the ones using the most technology. They're the ones who understand their customers well enough to know where AI can make the biggest difference. 

 

And perhaps that's the lesson. Technology will continue to change. Customer expectations will continue to evolve. But starting with the customer rather than the technology...I don't think that will ever go out of fashion. 

 

This article shares the seven biggest lessons I took away from researching AI adoption across UK FinTech. I've also produced a more detailed guide, including: 

 

 

If you'd like a copy, just complete the 'Contact Me' form and I'll send it across for you.