Bank of America is allocating $4 billion — or nearly a third of its overall technology budget for this year — toward new initiatives including AI, according to a Tuesday (April 8) news release.
The investment comes as the financial services giant sees the fruits of using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning since 2018, when it launched an AI-powered virtual assistant called Erica to help consumers with financial matters — four years before ChatGPT became a household name.
BofA said it saw the following gains across its business units:
Erica for Employees, an internal AI chatbot built on the customer-facing Erica, is being used by more than 90% of BofA’s 213,000 employees. This has reduced IT support calls by more than 50%.
Bank of America developers using a generative AI-based coding assistant saw efficiency gains of 20%
Employees save tens of thousands of hours per year by using AI to prepare materials for business client meetings, which they redirect toward client engagement.
Customer service representatives use an AI tool to deliver a more personalized interaction with clients, reducing call handling times.
Sales and trading teams use a generative AI platform developed internally to search and summarize BofA research and market commentary “more quickly and efficiently.”
BofA’s experience is an example of AI’s impact in financial services and serves as a pragmatic case study to its peers just embarking on the same journey. Its tech investment is part of a broader strategy to embed AI across its operations to boost efficiency, employee productivity and client service.
The financial services company has been deploying AI and machine learning since Erica debuted seven years ago. Bank of America said Erica has since handled more than 2.5 billion interactions and serves 20 million active users.
The internal version was introduced in 2020 and quickly gained traction during the pandemic, initially helping staff with IT support tasks like password resets and device activations. It now offers assistance on a wide range of topics, from health benefits to payroll forms.
The bank plans to further expand Erica for Employees’ capabilities this year, incorporating generative AI to help workers more easily access information about the bank’s products and services, among other topics.
Read more: Bank of America Says Real-Time Payments Connect Businesses to Working Capital
Scaling Customer and Employee Training
Bank of America’s professional development arm, known as The Academy, is also leveraging artificial intelligence for employee training. Staff completed more than 1 million simulated client interactions in 2024, receiving real-time feedback designed to help them provide better service.
Tools like askMerrill and askPrivate Banking, which apply the same AI technology behind Erica, have also seen growing use — garnering more than 23 million interactions in 2024, up 1 million year over year. These platforms help Merrill and private banking teams locate relevant information as well as escalate queries to human experts, if necessary.
AI is also being used to process customer feedback at scale. A generative AI system deployed in call centers summarizes client conversations, reducing the need for manual transcription.
“AI is having a transformative effect on employee efficiency and operational excellence,” Aditya Bhasin, BofA’s chief technology and information officer, said in the release. “Our use of AI at scale and around the world enables us to further enhance our capabilities, improve employee productivity and client service, and drive business growth.”
BofA said it holds nearly 7,400 patents and pending applications, including more than 1,200 focused on AI and machine learning.