Why Most GenAI POCs Fail to Reach Production in BFSI
Over the last year, I’ve seen many BFSI organizations build impressive GenAI POCs. The demos look great, leadership gets excited—but most of these initiatives never reach production.
In my experience, this rarely happens because of the technology.
GenAI POCs fail mainly due to delivery, ownership, and governance gaps.
1. GenAI Is Treated as a Demo, Not a Business Capability
Most POCs start with curiosity: “Let’s see what GenAI can do.”
But production success in BFSI depends on outcomes—reduced turnaround time, operational efficiency, decision consistency, and compliance.
If a GenAI initiative cannot clearly answer what business problem it solves and how success will be measured, it usually stays a demo.
2. Ownership Stops After the POC
A common pattern:
- Business expects IT to take it forward
- IT expects business sponsorship
- AI teams move on to the next experiment
In BFSI, anything without clear business and delivery ownership simply doesn’t move to production.
3. Traditional Delivery Models Don’t Fit GenAI
BFSI teams are very strong at delivering LOS, LMS, and Collections platforms. GenAI is different—it needs iteration, validation, and refinement.
Forcing GenAI into rigid delivery models makes it hard to operationalize.
What works better is a hybrid approach—structured for governance, flexible for evolution.
4. Governance Comes Too Late
Many teams think governance can be handled after the POC succeeds.
In BFSI, this is already too late.
Questions around data handling, auditability, risk, and compliance must be addressed early. When governance is built in from day one, production moves faster—not slower.
5. POCs Are Not Embedded Into Core Workflows
Standalone GenAI demos rarely deliver value.
Production success comes when GenAI is embedded into existing BFSI workflows—underwriting, collections, customer servicing, or internal operations.
What Actually Works
From practical experience, GenAI reaches production when teams:
- Start with production use cases, not experiments
- Assign clear business and delivery ownership
- Embed AI into existing platforms and processes
- Treat governance as an enabler
- Focus on repeatable patterns, not one-off POCs
Final Thought
GenAI adoption in BFSI is not a technology challenge.
It is a delivery and discipline challenge.
Organizations that apply the same rigor they use for core BFSI platforms—while allowing room for innovation—are the ones successfully moving GenAI from POC to production
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