Ally Financial finds gen AI success with 3 guiding principles

Keeping gen AI in check

Despite internal excitement around the platform, Muthukrishnan says AI governance remained top-of-mind. The company adapted its Ally Technology Operating Model (ATOM) for gen AI. The model has five core pillars that guide the introduction of all new technology and provide a roadmap for assessments, evaluations, and approvals: Discover, Ideate, Elaborate, Execute, and Measure.

The company also established an AI Working Group to work in conjunction with its existing Governance Group. Together, they formed an internal team of professionals in financial service fields including regulatory compliance, risk management, and audit, among others. The team reviews and advises on gen AI use cases.

To help guide the team on implementation of both classic AI and gen AI, the AI Working Group also developed the Ally AI Playbook to empower Ally’s business lines to explore AI use cases, plan for pilot programs, and move them into production in a responsible, considered way. Muthukrishnan says the playbook creates a common language of understanding across the company.