What does it really take to launch GenAI at a big brand? The HSBC reality check

In this session, Kate Ross (CEO of eight&four) sat down with her client Steve Thomas (Head of Marketing Strategy and Global Delivery at HSBC Global Private Banking) to unpack the real-world use of AI in corporate marketing.

Far from a typical AI hype talk, the discussion focused on how HSBC pragmatically implemented a custom AI tool, Scholar, to repurpose content at scale while navigating strict compliance and brand integrity standards. Steve shared his journey from early scepticism to practical application, explaining how AI has helped his team reformat expert insights into scalable, multilingual content.

While the benefits around efficiency and reach are clear, the conversation also highlighted the unexpected challenges: managing content overflow, internal process limitations, and ensuring quality over quantity. Steve emphasized the importance of staying curious but cautious, encouraging marketers to be commercial, sceptical, and intentional with AI adoption - especially in premium, regulated sectors like banking