Our bank is AI central

I just noticed that Lloyds Banking Group are enforcing AI training for all staff:

• Lloyds Banking Group is putting all 67,000 staff through compulsory AI training
• The move is part of a multi-million-pound push to modernise how the bank operates
• Every role, from branch staff to senior executives, will be expected to take part
• Lloyds hopes AI will improve customer service and speed up everyday banking tasks
• The shift comes as branches close and the bank reshapes jobs and careers

The move is designed to make the bank faster, more efficient and more digitally savvy by saving time on routine tasks, improving customer service and supporting the development of new products and services.

Training will start with a compulsory module on “working with AI responsibly”, focusing on safe and ethical use of the technology. It is all about ensuring streamlined services with security and trust and reflects the growing concern across the finance industry about data protection, bias and misuse of AI systems.

The push is being driven from the very top of the organisation, with chief executive Charlie Nunn and his executive committee already enrolled on the AI training course.

Lloyds says it wants 100% of its workforce to be “AI literate” by the end of 2026, having already invested several million pounds into digital and automation projects.

Lloyds is not alone in this effort. In October 2025, Citi announced that they intended to train 175,000 employees to work with AI, as has HSBC and other banks.

Big deal, huh?

In some ways, yes. I’ve said for some time that AI will augment human service, not replace it. The challenge is what you are training AI to be used for. Is it being used to reduce cost, replace human service and create greater efficiency; or is it being used for enhanced service, deeper customer relationships and a better employee experience?

After working with banks for decades, my suspicion is that it is all about the former and not about the latter. What does this mean in practice? It means that AI is deployed to streamline service further; increase self-service; reduce human interaction; reduce physical footprint; eradicate the costs and overheads of those 67,000 or 175,000 people; and so on and so on.

Am I sceptic or a cynic or both?

Neither. I am a realist.

No bank CEO wants to deploy AI without seeing improvement in cost-income ratio and the best way to improve that ratio is to cut costs and increase revenues. How do you do that? Get AI to serve customers and cross-sell them.

Who needs humans to do that?