NEW YORK — Major banks are accelerating their use of “agentic AI” — artificial intelligence systems capable of performing tasks with limited human supervision — as they seek to boost productivity while maintaining human oversight, a new analysis reveals.
The developments come at the same time the CU Daily has joined with Mitchell Stankovic to host a series of webinars on all things AI for credit unions.
Reuters service reported that banks are increasingly deploying AI agents across wealth management, trading, treasury operations, client onboarding and compliance, with many institutions moving beyond AI tools that simply provide information to systems that can complete tasks alongside human employees.
A June survey by KPMG found that 51% of banks are already piloting AI agents, Reuters reported.
Among the initiatives highlighted by Reuters:
- Morgan Stanley plans to begin testing AI assistants later this summer that can interact directly with wealth management clients around the clock. The firm already uses AI to assist financial advisors with routine tasks and is expanding the technology to generate client reminders and investment recommendations.
- BNY has assigned AI “digital employees” login credentials, nicknames and human managers responsible for training and quality control. Reuters reported that the bank views the AI systems as teammates assigned to specific operational tasks.
- UBS uses AI agents to alert financial advisors about client opportunities, such as maturing annuities, and to gather information from internal meetings, account records and communications. Once advisors approve transactions, the AI can execute trades and money transfers. UBS told Reuters the technology allows advisors to spend about 70% of their time with clients rather than on administrative work.
- Goldman Sachs is developing AI agents with Anthropic for functions including trading, transaction accounting and client onboarding, while JPMorgan Chase is exploring applications in corporate treasury. Citigroup is also preparing to deploy an AI-powered virtual wealth management assistant, Reuters reported.
Where Banks are Focused
Industry consultants told Reuters that banks are focusing AI investments on areas where productivity gains and returns on investment can be most readily demonstrated, as shareholders increasingly scrutinize technology spending.
Despite the growing adoption, Reuters reported that banks remain cautious about allowing AI systems to operate independently in customer-facing roles.
Executives told the news service that human oversight remains central to AI deployment, particularly for investment decisions and other critical financial functions, as regulators and financial institutions continue evaluating the risks associated with broader use of autonomous AI systems.
