generative AI for GCCs: transforming global capability centres into innovation engines

Global capability centres now operate as strategic engines for digital scale, intellectual property, and customer-centric value. Nearly 70% of centres in India now invest in generative AI for GCC, according to the EY India GCC Pulse Survey 2024. This acceleration signals a shift from operational arbitrage to capability building, where generative AI (GenAI) drives speed, efficiency, and differentiated business outcomes.


how is generative AI for GCCs transforming efficiency and innovation?

Executives expect measurable value from GCC investments. The rapid adoption of generative AI for GCC reflects a mandate to build agile, intelligent, and globally competitive operating models that can commercialise ideas fast and orchestrate performance at scale.


accelerating time-to-value and product development

Generative AI compresses the lifecycle of design, prototyping, and engineering, enabling GCCs to launch products and features faster.

The key benefits of GCC innovation with GenAI include:

  • Faster idea validation and engineering feasibility.
  • Automated technical documentation and version control.
  • Smart code generation that improves engineering velocity.

enabling intelligent, data-driven operations

Data intelligence has shifted from hindsight to foresight as GCC innovation with GenAI drives predictive performance. GCCs can strengthen decision-making with real-time insights and automated reasoning, with benefits like:

  • Real-time forecasting on demand, risk, and capacity.
  • Decision dashboards that recommend next-best actions.
  • Exception-driven workflows that reduce operational noise.

transforming workforce capabilities

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GenAI is reshaping talent roles and productivity. GCCs build adaptive, future-ready teams who work with intelligent systems and add value through:

  • Human-AI collaboration on specialised problem-solving.
  • Adaptive learning aligned to enterprise priorities.
  • Governance frameworks that support ethical experimentation.

driving operational excellence through intelligent automation

AI-driven GCC transformation facilitates smarter automation that modernises operations without compromising control. The result is scalable, resilient operations across functions with key improvements including:

  • Automated routing, classification, and decision paths.
  • Workflows that adapt to real-time events and signals.
  • Built-in controls for compliance, risk and auditability.

delivering always-on support through GenAI agents

Always-on GenAI-driven support engines create responsive and proactive service models, reducing friction across employee and customer journeys. Leveraging generative AI for GCCs, businesses can deliver personalised support at scale with:

  • Self-service support with contextual intelligence.
  • Proactive resolution with automated escalation.
  • Knowledge mining from complex, unstructured data.

Infosys BPM helps enterprises build AI-first GCCs that deliver measurable value. Its end-to-end GCC services span assess and design, setup and build, scale, and transform, enabling enterprises to modernise platforms, build adaptive talent systems, and scale execution with embedded governance. This approach positions GCCs as innovation engines, not transactional support units.


GenAI use cases for global capability centres

GenAI use cases for global capability centres now span core business functions and specialised domains. GCCs apply intelligence to modernise workflows, accelerate knowledge work, and deliver personalised experiences at scale to strengthen competitiveness.


IT and software development

Automated coding, architecture suggestions, testing, and documentation accelerate delivery speed while reducing rework. Teams use GenAI to identify vulnerabilities early, generate scalable architectures, and improve engineering consistency across distributed teams.


customer support

Conversational agents, knowledge search, sentiment analysis, and multilingual support deliver faster and more empathetic experiences. GCCs reduce wait times, improve first-contact resolution, and scale support without expanding headcount.


marketing operations

Content automation, campaign intelligence, personalisation, and performance optimisation improve conversion. Teams test messaging, forecast outcomes, and personalise content for niche audiences without manual overhead.


HR transformation

Adaptive learning paths, talent analytics, and personalised experiences accelerate capability building. GCCs redesign roles, shorten onboarding cycles, and support diverse career pathways.


pharma operations

Document processing, safety reporting, trial data analysis, and knowledge modelling accelerate discovery. GenAI reduces compliance risk, improves traceability, and connects scientific insights dispersed across research units and markets.


AI-driven GCC transformation: challenges and opportunities

The shift towards AI-driven GCC transformation brings challenges around governance, security, and ethics. Many centres struggle with privacy, regulatory compliance, algorithmic bias, and the complexity of scaling AI across global operations. GCC leaders need clear guardrails, transparent processes, and robust talent strategies to scale responsibly.

Despite these challenges, generative AI for GCCs offers numerous opportunities for resilient growth. Here are key trends that will help shape a future-ready GCC strategy:

  • An AI upskilling imperative will establish talent capable of designing and governing AI ecosystems.
  • GCC-as-a-service will enable organisations to scale capability on demand and monetise assets.
  • Innovation over operations will push GCCs to generate intellectual property, not just deliver process work.
  • Sustainability and ESG will shape investment decisions and operational standards.
  • Future-ready talent will integrate multidisciplinary skills to support adaptive enterprises.
  • Going global with hub and spoke will enable distributed innovation with centralised governance.

conclusion

Global capability centres are entering a period of structural change where digital capabilities define enterprise competitiveness. Investments in generative AI for GCC give enterprises the opportunity to modernise operations, accelerate product innovation, and build adaptive talent ecosystems. GCCs that prioritise outcomes, governance, and institutional learning will convert technology investments into sustainable advantage. As maturity grows, these centres will evolve into global innovation engines shaping new business models, digital products, and cross-market innovation.


Frequently Asked Questions:

How does GenAI change a GCC’s operating model beyond automation?​

It shifts the GCC from execution to capability-building and innovation at scale.​

GenAI compresses product and engineering cycles, improves real-time decision intelligence, and enables always-on support models through governed agents and knowledge layers.​

The result is faster time-to-value and stronger enterprise differentiation.​


What governance risks should GCC leaders mitigate before scaling GenAI globally?​

The main risks are data privacy exposure, model bias, and uncontrolled scaling across geographies and functions.​

GCCs need clear guardrails, transparent processes, and robust talent and governance frameworks to keep experimentation ethical and compliant while expanding adoption.​

This prevents reputational and regulatory risk while sustaining scale benefits.​


Where do GCCs typically see the fastest measurable ROI from GenAI?​

Start with engineering acceleration, operational intelligence, and high-volume support workflows.​

Use cases like automated documentation, code and testing assistance, next-best-action dashboards, and contextual service agents tie directly to cycle-time reduction and productivity uplift.​

This builds a credible business case before moving into higher-risk autonomy.