HCLTech GenAI Answer Engine

In the AI era, enterprise visitors expect fast, self-serve journeys—a decision-support experience that delivers one-click, context-rich answers aligned with how modern B2B buyers evaluate and act. Research and behavioral data have revealed that traditional website search is no longer relevant; users now demand conversational, intelligent discovery rather than keyword retrieval. Anticipating this shift, HCLTech emerged as a first mover among global IT enterprises by implementing a GenAI-powered Answer Engine on its corporate website. The goal was to transform interaction and search into a live dialogue that interprets user intent, provides precise and brand-consistent insights, and accelerates conversion. We set out to elevate the customer experience, boost engagement, and strengthen lead generation—while establishing a scalable AI foundation that unites marketing, content, and analytics into a continuously learning digital ecosystem.

Within 90 days post-launch, measurable outcomes validated the transformation:

• 170 G2K target client engagements with ~34 % product/service intent.
• $52M pipeline impact (27%) attributable to AE-sourced journeys.
• 2.5x adoption vs. legacy search; 28% CTR on AI-curated links.
• 200% growth in search-page sessions; 12% bounce reduction, 10% longer sessions.

Qualitatively, visitors now prefer single-view, decision-ready answers over page navigation. The website evolved into a trusted, AI-assisted decision-making platform—driving stronger engagement, higher conversion rates, and a measurable ROI aligned with HCLTech’s AI-first brand positioning.

The GenAI Answer Engine was built on a secure, enterprise-grade stack combining advanced AI, scalable infrastructure, and multi-team collaboration.

• Core Stack: Drupal 10 CMS as back-end and front-end, OpenAI APIs, and Python-based data processing pipelines.
• AI and Search: OpenAI LLM (GPT models), Pinecone vector database, and Cohere/BGE Reranker integration for semantic precision and factual consistency.
• Infrastructure: AWS EC2 and RDS for compute and storage, protected by Akamai WAF/CDN and integrated SIEM monitoring for global scalability and uptime.
• Security and Governance: Jointly managed through central enterprise security and compliance functions, leveraging AppSec tokenization, SAST/DAST/SCA scans, CSP headers, and rigorous security validation processes to ensure data privacy, integrity, and full regulatory compliance.
• Analytics and Marketing: Google Analytics 4 (GA4), HCLTech Unica Marketing Automation, and Power BI dashboards to measure user engagement and conversion effectiveness.
• Collaboration and Design: A close partnership among the Sales, Business Marketing, Global IT, and Security teams ensured accurate responses, compliance, and business alignment. The Supercharged Design System (SDS) unified the experience, together forming a user-friendly, secure, high-performance, AI-driven search ecosystem.

Delivering a GenAI experience within an enterprise environment required overcoming multiple complexities:

• Security and Compliance: Global IT and Security teams implemented multi-layer AppSec controls and zero-PII governance before approval.
• Response Quality: Sales and Marketing partners curated approved sources and tested answers for accuracy and tone.
• Model Bias and Latency: Early responses exhibited slow output, which was addressed through prompt tuning, metadata re-ranking, and caching.
• Cross-Functional Orchestration: Five departments and vendors collaborated under tight timelines, maintaining brand-safe guardrails.
  

This coordinated execution—balancing AI innovation with compliance and trust—demonstrated HCLTech’s maturity in governing enterprise-scale GenAI initiatives.

The GenAI Answer Engine represents HCLTech’s digital-transformation flagship—a live demonstration of how generative AI can create measurable business value. The initiative began with a clear objective: empower users to find relevant insights instantly and reduce the friction of multi-page navigation.

The architecture was built on a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) model, which combines vector semantics and metadata. Over 10,000 pages of content were converted into embeddings using OpenAI models and indexed in Pinecone for semantic retrieval. Each page was tagged through an AI-powered auto-generate page metadata Framework, reframing content to boost business relevance and contextual vector discoverability, enabling AI responses to prioritize high-value content by industry and geography. A Prompt Orchestration Layer ensured that answers were factually accurate and brand-consistent.

The front-end, built with Drupal 10, delivers real-time responses with inline lead generation. GA4 and Unica integration enable continuous tracking and optimization. Governance was central — every AI response was validated through an AI-based content discovery framework to maintain tone, accuracy, and compliance. The entire stack was secured through Akamai WAF, CSP headers, and GIS-approved Application Security (AppSec) tokens.

The project was executed across multiple teams, including Corporate and Digital Marketing, Web Operations, Global IT and Security, and vendor partners. The collaboration spanned from concept to launch in under two and a half months, facilitated by an agile governance model.

By bridging AI intelligence, design consistency, and business strategy, the Answer Engine transformed HCLTech.com into a self-learning engagement platform — one that responds, learns, and converts.

The GenAI Answer Engine serves HCLTech.com’s global audience across 60+ countries. Its initial rollout spanned the corporate English site. The upcoming phase includes deployments in Japanese and German. The architecture is hosted on AWS with Akamai WAF and global CDN delivery to ensure fast and secure access for users in North America, Europe, and the APAC region. The project’s reach and impact are truly international — showcasing how HCLTech leverages AI to deliver a consistent, localized, and intelligent digital experience for a global enterprise audience.