Wall Street Banks Deploy AI Digital Assistants to Boost Productivity

Major Wall Street banks are increasingly integrating advanced artificial intelligence agents, or “digital assistants,” into their daily operations in a competitive push to enhance productivity. These firms are deploying agentic AI—systems capable of completing complex tasks with minimal human supervision—across wealth management, trading, and client services.

The New Digital Workforce

Financial institutions are moving beyond pilot programs to embed AI agents as functional members of their teams. According to a June survey by KPMG, 51% of banks were already piloting AI agents. The goal is to create a hybrid workforce where humans and AI collaborate to streamline operations.

Bank of New York Mellon, for example, treats its digital employees as teammates with their own login IDs and human managers, CEO Robin Vince explained on a Wall Street Journal podcast. One such assistant, nicknamed "Payment Pete," is assigned daily tasks and undergoes performance reviews, operating within the bank's systems alongside its human colleagues.

Similarly, Morgan Stanley is preparing to test digital assistants that can interact directly with clients later this summer, according to Koren Maranca, the bank's head of AI for Wealth Management. The firm already uses AI to help its financial advisors analyze investments and suggest strategies.

Broad Applications and Market Impact

The adoption of agentic AI is a sector-wide trend, with banks applying the technology to a wide array of functions:

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• UBS uses agents to send thousands of daily alerts to financial advisors, such as reminders for maturing annuities. The bank reports this allows advisors to spend 70% of their time engaging with clients rather than on routine tasks.
• Goldman Sachs has partnered with AI firm Anthropic to develop agents for trading, transaction accounting, and client onboarding.
• JPMorgan Chase has identified corporate treasury as a key area for transformation through agentic AI, while Citi is preparing to launch a virtual wealth management assistant.

This technological investment is driven by the pursuit of efficiency and a clear return on investment (ROI), a key point of focus for bank investors. "Investors are asking, where should we be looking for ROI on these tech spends," said Peter Torrente, U.S. banking sector leader at KPMG, noting that banks will likely concentrate on areas where returns are most evident.

Balancing Innovation and Oversight

The growing reliance on autonomous AI is also prompting a sharp focus on risk management and regulatory compliance. Banks are implementing strict guardrails to control these digital agents, which have access to sensitive internal systems.

Executives emphasize that human oversight remains critical. Morgan Stanley's Maranca stated that agents will not have the autonomy to make final portfolio decisions. This “human-in-the-loop” approach is crucial, especially for client-facing functions.

"They are being extremely cautious when it touches the customer and are making sure that there is a human involved for any critical functions," said Bhavi Mehta, global lead for advanced analytics in financial services at Bain & Company.