AUB News

Ukrainian banks are on the verge of a qualitatively new era—an era when customer decisions are made not after viewing advertisements or searching Google, but based on recommendations from artificial intelligence. Today, AI shapes trust in financial institutions and determines which bank will get a new customer. This was revealed to more than 70 participants in a free webinar entitled “AI solutions for strategic bank development: new opportunities for attracting customers,” organized by the Association of Ukrainian Banks on September 24.

How the role of AI in the financial sector has changed: from pharmaceuticals to banks

The webinar speaker, Olena Tkachuk, an expert in strategic development, marketing, and AI, emphasized that just a few years ago, most budgets were spent on SEO, Google advertising, and classic PR. Today, these tools have not disappeared, but they have lost their monopoly.
Information requests (“which bank to choose,” “where to open a foreign currency account”) are increasingly being transferred to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity. This is where the customer receives advice and builds trust. Conversion requests (“open an account with bank X”) remain in the realm of Google Ads.

“Whereas search traffic used to play a key role, now it is AI recommendations that determine whether a customer will turn to your bank. Trust in AI is almost unquestionable,” the speaker emphasized.

To illustrate the scale of the changes, Olena Tkachuk cited the example of a well-known Ukrainian pharmacy chain. Even before the advent of AI, 70% of traffic to the pharmacy's website was provided by SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and the monthly audience reached 4 million users. With the advent of AI, information traffic began to decline, but the quality of inquiries increased. Customers who came through AI queries were ready to buy, and the conversion rate increased several times over.
The expert said that the company realized that a pharmacy, as a well-known brand, needs to be not only on Google, but also in AI reviews, in ChatGPT responses, and in lists of authoritative sources. Otherwise, you lose trust and customers.

Want to become a leader: forum “knowledge clusters”

The webinar also discussed topics that concern every banker today. It focused on how AI is changing the strategic context in the financial sector. Whereas marketing departments used to rely on SEO and link buying, now something completely different is coming to the fore—building expertise in artificial intelligence responses. This determines whether a potential customer will see the bank's name among the recommendations.
The speaker emphasized that in the new environment, it is necessary not just to create content, but to form entire “knowledge clusters” around topics where the bank wants to be a leader. What matters here are not loud slogans, but facts, research, graphs, and verified data. Special attention should be paid to LinkedIn, as this platform is fully indexed by AI and increasingly determines the authority of companies and their top managers.

What interested the participants

Participants asked practical questions, including:

• How to quickly rebuild a marketing strategy for AI conditions;
• Whether it is worth investing in LinkedIn profiles for managers;
• Which sources have the greatest impact on artificial intelligence algorithms;
• how to measure the effectiveness of new AI tools compared to classic SEO;
• how to minimize reputational risks when interacting with AI.

How artificial intelligence affects profitability

The issue of profitability was discussed just as vigorously. Yes, overall traffic to websites is decreasing, but the quality of visits is increasing. Customers who come thanks to AI are already ready to take action, and therefore conversions are also increasing. Participants were told that the new strategic KPIs are not only the number of visits, but also the bank's presence in AI responses, mentions in scientific databases such as Scopus or Web of Science, and activity on LinkedIn.
The topic of reputational risks was also discussed. Artificial intelligence perceives the bank as a whole: either it looks authoritative or it does not. Any mistakes in the reputation strategy can result in AI simply not including the institution in its recommendations. And this directly affects customer trust.

AI is not a panacea — a comprehensive strategy is needed

The question-and-answer discussion proved to be dynamic. Participants asked practical questions: how quickly to rebuild a marketing strategy, whether it is really worth investing in LinkedIn profiles for managers, which sources most influence AI algorithms, and how to measure the effectiveness of new tools compared to classic SEO. There were also many questions about reputational risks. The speaker provided comprehensive answers to all these topics, emphasizing that no single tool is a panacea — a comprehensive strategy is needed.

Concluding the webinar, Olena Tkachuk outlined several practical tips: form thematic knowledge clusters, work on standardizing LinkedIn profiles, publish content with links to authoritative sources, and involve experts with academic backgrounds in your work. Most importantly, measure results not only in terms of traffic numbers, but also in terms of how much trust in the bank grows in the responses of artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is no longer an auxiliary tool — it is becoming the main arbiter of trust between the customer and the bank. Those institutions that integrate AI into their development strategy will gain not only a competitive advantage, but also a chance to remain market leaders in the coming years. The webinar of the Association of Ukrainian Banks, “AI solutions for strategic bank development: new opportunities for attracting customers,” became a practical guide for participants on how to implement artificial intelligence in their professional activities today.