AI is transforming Global Business Services (GBS) from a cost-saving and process efficiency function into a strategic intelligence and innovation hub. Today, GBS plays a far bigger role. It helped companies make smarter decisions by giving them a clearer understanding of what’s happening across their business. A big part of that shift comes from how businesses are using data and technology in GBS.
As more organizations adopt hybrid sourcing models combining GBS with third-party providers for greater flexibility, oversight, and efficiency. AI and GenAI are becoming essential to making these models smarter. It’s no longer just about automating tasks; businesses are using AI to connect the dots across functions, uncover trends, and deliver real-time insights. This means leaders don’t just react to challenges—they can anticipate them, make faster decisions, and see the bigger picture. GBS is evolving from a back-office function into a strategic hub, helping businesses stay agile and competitive in a rapidly changing world.
One of the biggest changes is how GBS helps different teams from finance to HR to procurement work off the same unified data, rather than in silos. By efficiently integrating, transforming, analyzing and orchestrating it across functions, GBS can share better insights and help the business move faster.
What are some real-world examples of how AI is driving value in GBS processes today?
At EdgeVerve, we are seeing AI fundamentally reshape the role of Global Business Services (GBS). AI is enabling it to move far beyond their traditional back-office roles. It is helping GBS functions become intelligence centers that provide real-time insights, guide decision-making, and support business agility.
AI is automating invoice-to-payment matching, it will help by automated three-way matching, identifying duplicate invoices and deductions that would otherwise slip through the cracks. The outcome is a reduction of manual work, and improved accuracy. This not only improves process efficiency but also protects revenue.
In HR services, AI-powered virtual assistants are helping employees with routine queries and guiding them through onboarding processes. The outcome frees up HR teams to focus on strategic talent initiatives and improving the overall employee experience.
For Procurement, AI can help automate both the negotiation and contracting phases. In Negotiations, generative AI can provide the right language to use, helping to draft email responses and save time. AI can quickly identify non-standard clauses, suggesting alternatives that have been used before.
As organizations accelerate their digital transformation journeys, AI-enabled GBS is emerging as a key partner in driving enterprise resilience, innovation, and growth — a shift that EdgeVerve is actively supporting through our AI-first platforms and solutions.
How does AI help GBS functions move from being cost centers to strategic value drivers for enterprises?
AI is redefining the role of Global Business Services (GBS), shifting it from a back-office cost center to a strategic powerhouse that drives business growth. By automating routine tasks, AI frees up teams to focus on higher-value work whether that’s improving customer experiences, optimizing financial planning, or driving innovation.
Beyond efficiency, AI helps GBS connect the dots across finance, HR, procurement, and other functions. It can provide leadership with real-time insights to make faster, smarter decisions. It pinpoints process bottlenecks, predicts risks, and identifies opportunities for improvement, making operations more agile and responsive.
AI-powered virtual assistants and chatbots are also transforming how employees and customers interact with businesses. They can offer personalized, intuitive experiences that boost engagement and satisfaction.
Perhaps most importantly, AI is turning GBS into an engine for strategic value creation. Whether it’s leveraging predictive analytics for better planning, using GenAI for workforce training, or identifying new growth opportunities. AI is helping businesses stay ahead of the curve.
Yet, many organizations are only scratching the surface of AI’s potential in GBS. Those that fully embrace AI-driven transformation will unlock a competitive edge, moving beyond cost savings to become true business accelerators.
AI is helping Global Business Services (GBS) evolve from a cost-saving mechanism, focused on centralizing routine processes. It is positioning them as a strategic value driver that helps businesses make smarter decisions faster.
What are the biggest challenges organizations face when embedding AI into GBS operations, and how can they overcome them?
Embedding AI into GBS operations holds huge potential. However, many organizations face practical challenges when trying to make it work at scale.
One of the hurdles is disconnected data and systems. GBS often work across finance, HR, procurement, and other functions, each using different systems. When data isn’t consistent or connected, AI struggles to deliver useful insights. Fixing this isn’t just about technology — it’s about making sure processes are aligned, data is cleaned up, and teams have a shared view of how work flows across functions.
Another challenge is scaling AI beyond pilots. Many companies test AI in small pockets, like invoice processing or employee queries. However, those efforts rarely expand across the whole GBS ecosystem. To move forward, organizations need a clear AI roadmap and a unified platform-based approach. That approach should connect individual use cases to broader business goals. The strategy should consist of the right technology, processes, talent, and governance. It should also be capable of scaling AI successfully, considering compute power and cost.
When organizations get these foundations right- data, scaling strategy, and culture – AI doesn’t just automate tasks; it becomes a key enabler of GBS transformation. Instead of being solely cost-focused, GBS evolves into a value-centric model that drives innovation, agility, and smarter decision-making across the enterprise.
What are the top trends you see shaping the future of AI in GBS over the next few years?
Over the next few years, AI is going to fundamentally change how Global Business Services (GBS) operates. This is not just in how work gets done, but in the way it contributes to the bigger business picture.
The first big shift we’re seeing is AI becoming part of the everyday flow of GBS operations. A lot of companies are moving beyond basic automation and are starting to use AI and GenAI to spot patterns in data, flag risks early, and help leaders make faster decisions confidently. This isn’t just about efficiency — it’s about leveraging tools to bring real insights to the table, across finance, HR, procurement, and even customer service.
The second major trend is how GBS is becoming much more connected across regions and functions. With more companies moving to global and hybrid GBS models, AI plays a key role in bringing data together across different teams and locations. That connected data gives leaders a clearer picture of how the business is running. Furthermore, it helps GBS move from handling tasks to helping shape enterprise strategy.
The third shift is all about people and skills. As more routine work gets automated, the real value from GBS will come from people who can understand AI-driven insights and know how to apply them to real business challenges. They could also now focus more on strategic and value-adding activities (vs. repetitive and tactical tasks).
At EdgeVerve, we’re helping organizations build these AI-enabled business models. Where technology and people work together to drive smarter decisions, improve agility, and uncover new opportunities for growth.
How does EdgeVerve enable its customers to adopt AI in their GBS functions?
One of our main focus areas and differentiators is our ability to help customers scale Applied AI with one unified AI platform, EdgeVerve AI Next. Our offering for GBS (EdgeVerve AI Next Operations & Service Management) was built in collaboration with GBS leaders. It follows the same approach and reinforces fast AI scaling and adoption. A few ways we help our GBS customers with AI adoption include:
- Strategic Consulting/Partnerships: to better understand their unique GBS priorities, needs, challenges, use cases and more – as every GBS set-up is different
- Flexibility/Customizations: instead of offering a standard ‘run-of-the-mill’ GBS offering, we try to tailor the offering to best suit clients’ unique needs & environment. This is one of the most important factors that accelerates adoption.
- Elevating User Experience, Skilling & Dev Needs: with easy to use, unified, and intuitive user interfaces, integrated GenAI copilots, and a low-code, no-code platform
- Agentic AI-powered Service & Workforce management: unlocks new levels of process transformation, workforce productivity, and collaboration
- Persona-based dashboards & reports: ensure enterprise-level visibility for GBS/GCC (Global Capability Centres) leaders
- Security & Compliance: our proven ‘Responsible AI’ governance, security & compliance frameworks/guardrails for AI and flexible deployment needs help with easy integration, adoption, and management of new AI models
- Scalability: With scalable and plug and play modular components, we ensure that the GBS functions could use the AI modules they need and adjust their usage per their evolving role/business needs.
What advice would you give to organizations that are just starting their AI journey in GBS?
My advice to organizations that are just starting their GBS journey would be to consider:
- Clearly define the ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘where’, ‘who’, ‘when’ & ‘how’ with respect to the AI journey: Include your primary drivers for AI.
- Where do you expect to see the maximum impact (e.g. functions & use cases with high-impact promise)?
- Identify the core team(s) & stakeholders;
- Align initiatives with broader business objectives
- Benchmark and set some measurable metrics
- Don’t ignore DATA, as data is going to fuel your AI journey. Build a robust data foundation, ensuring the needed data quality, integration, accessibility, and security & privacy are critical
- Start small but build a scalable AI strategy: to replicate early wins in one/more functions and sustain AI success.
- Focus on PEOPLE: AI initiatives’ success heavily leans on your people who could/would/should be using AI. Considering their needs and preferences around usage and wider adoption is really important.
- The importance of getting internal buy-ins, collaboration and communication can’t be overemphasized.
- Adopt a unified platform-based approach, as your AI journey will have a lot of moving parts (data, people, processes, and tech) to manage and work together. It’s very important that you leverage a platform-based approach that unifies disparate technologies and orchestrates business operations. Such an approach also ensures effectiveness, speed, scale, flexibility, and security & governance needed for a future-ready GBS. This approach has been one of the primary factors that has enabled us to drive GBS transformations for clients at different phases of their AI journeys with EdgeVerve AI Next for GBS.
This approach has been one of the primary factors that has enabled us to drive GBS transformations for clients at different phases of their AI journeys with EdgeVerve AI Next for GBS platform.
EdgeVerve Systems Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Infosys, is a global leader in developing digital platforms, empowering clients to unlock unlimited possibilities in their digital transformation journey. Our purpose is to inspire enterprises with the power of digital platforms, thereby enabling our clients to innovate on business models, drive game-changing efficiency, amplify human potential, and foster a connected ecosystem. Our comprehensive platform portfolio (EdgeVerve AI Next, Infosys Finacle, AssistEdge, XtractEdge, and TradeEdge) across Automation, Document AI, and Supply Chain helps inspire global enterprises to bridge silos in people, processes, data, & technology, discover & automate processes, digitize & zstructure unstructured data, and unlock the power of the network by integrating value chain partners. With a deep-rooted entrepreneurial culture, EdgeVerve’s innovations are helping global corporations across sectors such as financial services, insurance, retail, consumer and packaged goods, life sciences, manufacturing, telecom, utilities, and more.
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