Optimising omnichannel journeys in financial services — powered by GenAI and real-time intelligence.

Financial brands that can effectively orchestrate cross-channel journeys deliver the right experience in the moments that matter. With generative AI (GenAI) and large language models (LLMs) reshaping how customers research, discover, and compare financial products, adapting these journeys to AI-driven behaviors is now a strategic imperative.

According to Adobe AI and Digital Trends Report, 65% of senior executives identify leveraging AI and predictive analytics as primary contributors to growth in 2025. At the same time, customers’ financial journeys have grown increasingly complex. Countless individuals navigate multichannel paths that demand tailored guidance at every turn, particularly during major financial milestones such as buying a home or starting a business.

Meeting these expectations at scale can be daunting for financial services organisations, but GenAI tools and rules-based automation are making it possible. Data-driven insights now pave the way for personalised interactions at every touchpoint, prioritising the ideal customer experience at each stage of their journey.

In this article, we explore how financial institutions can optimise the omnichannel journey for every customer and show up earlier in the decision-making process through Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), even before customers land on their site.

Winning in the age of AI-driven discovery.

A recent Forrester report commissioned by Adobe highlights the importance of understanding a customer’s goals and preferences to deliver personalised assistance on the right channel at the right moment. Yet, the starting point of the customer journey is shifting dramatically.

GenAI platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini are fast emerging as a critical starting point for financial research and product discovery. Customers are increasingly turning to these tools, using them for research (72%), for product recommendations (47%), and to compare financial offerings (43%). Adobe Analytics data underscores the scale of this change: between July 2024 and May 2025, there was a 2,700% surge in banking site traffic originating from AI-driven sources. The data also suggests that LLM referrals generate deeper engagement than traditional traffic, with customers 7% more likely to start a banking application.

For financial institutions, as for all industries, this means that being discoverable in LLM-generated answers is now a key priority. Visibility and trust in GenAI-powered recommendations are quickly becoming as important as search engine rankings once were. It’s no longer just about omnichannel presence but rather omnichannel intelligence, where financial organisations must be visible, credible, and responsive in moments shaped by GenAI tools and LLMs.

Once customers are drawn in through AI-friendly discovery stage content, financial services organisations need to deliver a unified customer experience across their owned channels. A single, connected view of the customer — powered by real-time profiles and a streamlined content supply chain — ensures consistent and compliant interactions that strengthen trust and drive measurable outcomes.

Leading organisations are already capitalising on this shift. 70% of Experience Leaders, firms that are gaining ground and ROI on their personalisation at scale efforts, use AI-powered decisioning to determine which customers receive which messages or experiences on their preferred channels. And as competition for visibility in AI-driven channels intensifies, applications such as Adobe LLM Optimizer will help financial brands establish authority in AI search and improve findability in LLM answers, ensuring they show up where customers are increasingly making decisions.

Guiding smarter financial decisions with real-time, cross-channel insights.

To deliver relevant and valuable experiences aligned with each customer’s financial goals, financial institutions must follow their cross-channel journey in real time — whether the next touchpoint is the mobile app, a branch visit or an AI-powered finance assistant leveraging first-party data.

This need for real-time visibility has become even more critical as customers now have more tools than ever to make informed financial decisions. LLMs are helping them not only to find the right products but also to guide their choices throughout the journey, from comparing loan options to seeking personalised advice. These tools aren’t replacing traditional search entirely, but they are reshaping how customers enter and move through the funnel, influencing both the products they consider and the questions they ask.

As a result, the bar is higher than ever for financial institutions to understand and respond to customers across their cross-channel journeys. Without real-time journey visibility, even sophisticated segmentation can result in mismatched offers and missed opportunities to deepen relationships. Customers might be greeted with retargeting offers that don’t match their current financial goals — like an offer on a second mortgage when they have yet to secure their first, or receiving retirement planning content when they have just opened their first graduate account.

When financial institutions follow their customers' journey in real time, they can:

• Gather data from diverse sources to better understand who their customer is and their financial well-being.
• Choose the message, offer, or guidance most relevant to the customer’s current needs.
• Discover how far along the customer is in their journey to make sure subsequent interactions build on previous ones.
• Understand the customer’s preferred communication channel and reach them where they are most likely to engage to optimise one or more KPIs.

With an AI-driven decision engine at the helm, a customer might go from abandoning an application to reengaging with an organisation in a journey that looks something like this:

From insights to empathy: Empowering customers with financial wellness.

Rising costs and economic uncertainty have made financial wellness a growing concern for consumers across Europe and the UK, especially younger generations. While many recognise the need for better financial planning, the complexity of financial products often leaves them unsure of where to begin. Unsurprisingly, they’re turning to LLMs for discovery and guidance. By optimising for this shift, financial institutions have a unique opportunity to go beyond being just service providers and position themselves as true partners who proactively guide customers towards stronger financial outcomes.

In our recent guide on financial well-being, one message stands out: empathy, powered by data and delivered in real time, is key to building lasting relationships. When institutions understand individual behaviours — what a customer is doing, feeling, or struggling with — they can offer support that feels timely, human, and relevant.

Imagine a customer showing early signs of financial difficulty: declining balances, increased calls to support, and disengagement from bank communications. Rather than respond reactively, a bank could use real-time insights to intervene with empathy, for example offering a temporary overdraft extension, promoting free debt advice services, or equipping branch staff to have informed, supportive conversations.

These moments aren’t just service touchpoints, they’re opportunities to build trust. By anticipating needs and delivering guidance in context, institutions can improve both financial outcomes and customer loyalty. And as more consumers explore GenAI-powered tools to understand products and manage money, financial services organisations must ensure their own experiences are just as intelligent and intuitive.

Achieving this level of personalised service requires a combination of real-time data, journey orchestration, and AI-powered decisioning — the foundation that enables banks to act in the customer's best interest at precisely the right time.

https://main--bacom-blog--adobecom.hlx.live/blog/fragments/turn-every-experience-into-a-positive-investment

How Adobe can help.

Adobe for Business is helping financial brands orchestrate contextually intelligent, compliant customer journeys — from GenAI discovery to revenue. Adobe doesn’t just support omnichannel marketing, it enables financial institutions to modernise CX, unify siloed teams, and win in the AI-powered future of finance.

Ready to modernise your customer experience?

Explore Adobe’s Financial Services solutions