By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
FINANCIAL institutions are prioritising investment in AI, but most remain stuck at the pilot stage, according to the FinCrime Frontier Report 2026–27.
The study, by SymphonyAI and AML Intelligence, found that while 62% of respondents identified AI and automation as their leading compliance investment priority, 82.1% remained at or below the pilot stage of AI maturity.
You can read more in the full report, which is available [HERE].
In a webinar covering the study, an expert panel examined why companies face such difficulties with translating AI experimentation into results.
A full recording of the event, held on 13 October 2026, is now available to watch on demand [HERE].
Charmian Simmons, principal strategic adviser for financial crime compliance at SymphonyAI, and Stephen Rae, co-founder and chair of AML Intelligence, dove into the FinCrime Frontier 2026–27 key findings.
Paul O’Donoghue, senior correspondent at AML Intelligence, moderated the discussion.
How to move beyond the AI pilot stage
The webinar examined
- What is needed to move AI beyond experimentation.
- The roles of explainability and regulatory expectations in shaping financial crime technology investment.
Additionally, the panellists covered:
- Where the industry is making progress and where critical gaps remain across effectiveness, efficiency and explainability
- Why data, governance and explainability matter as institutions look to scale AI responsibly
- What’s next for more continuous, adaptive financial crime operations, agentic AI and the evolving role of human oversight
“Investment [in AI] is one of the things which is moving in the right direction,” said Simmons. However, she added that companies investing in AI for compliance must now focus on effective implementation.
“Understanding the risk of that, but also, how does it [AI investment] elevate or impact the business top line [should be the focus],” she said.
Those interested can watch a recording of the webinar [HERE].
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