Scottish Widows pilots AI compliance with Adclear to speed up safe marketing
Scottish Widows has started a six-month pilot with Adclear to tighten marketing compliance and improve clarity for customers. The insurer and pensions provider, part of Lloyds Banking Group, is testing how AI can cut review times without weakening controls.
What the pilot includes
Adclear's platform checks copy, images, and video against relevant FCA rules and creates a full audit trail for sign-off. Teams get quick, precise flags on risks and required disclosures, bringing down the back-and-forth that slows campaigns.
According to Adclear, reviews complete in far less time-cut by up to 88%-while maintaining consistent standards across channels. That means Scottish Widows' award-winning marketing teams can ship more campaigns without adding pressure to compliance colleagues.
If you need a refresher on the regulations in scope, see the FCA's guidance on financial promotions and related rules: FCA financial promotions rules.
Why this matters for finance teams
- Shorter review cycles with clear audit trails for internal and external oversight.
- Consistent use of risk language, rates, and disclosures across formats.
- Fewer manual checks on recurring issues; more time on judgment calls that truly need experts.
- Group scalability: other parts of Lloyds Banking Group are watching this pilot with intent.
What the leaders say
Doni Hoti, CEO and co-founder of Adclear, noted that marketing teams need speed, but accuracy and safety are non-negotiable in finance. The platform is built to keep creative work moving while staying inside the rules.
Maria Herrero-Bullich, chief customer and digital officer at Scottish Widows, said the tech will help the team move faster and keep communications clear and relevant. With more customers using the app and digital services, transparency and timely updates remain essential.
How to get value in your own function
- Start with high-volume assets (social, email, web banners) where delays bite most.
- Map rules to templates: product types, disclaimers, trigger terms, and rate changes.
- Keep humans in the loop for nuanced judgments and final approvals.
- Track metrics: review time, time-to-market, number of issues per asset, and rework rate.
- Integrate with your DAM and approval workflow so outputs and audit logs are captured in one place.
What to watch during the six-month pilot
- Cycle-time reduction versus baseline and where the savings come from.
- Precision of flags: false positives and false negatives by asset type.
- Consistency of disclaimers and risk warnings across campaigns.
- Audit readiness: clarity of version history, approvals, and rationale for decisions.
Next steps
If this pilot delivers as expected, it sets a blueprint for financial services teams that need speed without slipping on standards. For practitioners planning an adoption path, align legal, compliance, marketing, and product early-and define success metrics up front.
Exploring tooling options more broadly? See a curated overview of AI tools for finance to support evaluation and skills planning.
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