AI beyond the buzz: AML transformation in practice

Finextra will host an online webinar with NICE Actimize to examine where artificial intelligence delivers measurable results across the anti‑money laundering lifecycle and which applications are ready for operational use. Speakers include Nicola Eschenburg, EMEA AML Strategy Leader at NICE Actimize, with Teresa Connors as moderator. Registration details are available from the organiser.

The webinar will address the need for firms to move AI projects from pilots into production by identifying high‑impact uses that strengthen AML programmes while improving efficiency and accuracy. The programme will cover customer onboarding, know‑your‑customer checks, transaction monitoring, investigations, case management and regulatory reporting, with an emphasis on measurable outcomes.

Panelists will review specific use cases where firms report gains: automated adverse media research, more accurate customer risk assessments, screening optimisation to reduce false positives, alert triage to prioritise higher‑risk cases, automation of investigation steps and tools to support suspicious activity report preparation. Speakers will describe how these applications can connect risk signals held in different systems and teams to provide a fuller view of customer risk and speed decision‑making.

The session will also consider the practical role of machine learning models, large language models and agentic AI in financial crime compliance. Discussion topics include how those tools can assist detection and investigation, the points at which human oversight is required, and limits on autonomous decision‑making in regulated environments.

Governance and regulatory expectations will be a core part of the discussion. Panelists will address transparency, explainability, documentation, audit trails and control measures that firms must apply when deploying AI in AML workflows to meet supervisor requirements.

Speakers will compare building in‑house capabilities, buying vendor solutions and adopting hybrid approaches, and will describe how each option affects integration with existing systems and workflows. The webinar will present practitioner accounts of where organisations report measurable improvements and practical steps compliance teams can take to scale AI from experimentation into routine AML operations.