Bank of America is doubling down on artificial intelligence (AI) as it seeks to enhance productivity among its 213,000 employees and sharpen client experiences, revealing new use cases and upgrades across its enterprise.

Speaking on the company’s evolving AI strategy, Aditya Bhasin, Chief Technology & Information Officer, said: “AI is having a transformative effect on employee efficiency and operational excellence… 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.”

The bank’s early investment in AI is already paying off. Launched in 2018, Erica®, its virtual financial assistant, has become a cornerstone of digital banking, with more than 2.5 billion client interactions and 20 million active users. Now, the technology is being redeployed internally through “Erica for Employees”, helping staff with IT and HR-related tasks such as device activation and accessing tax forms.

Since the internal tool’s launch during the pandemic, usage has soared with more than 90 per cent of employees now relying on it. Bank of America says this has halved IT help desk calls and plans are underway to expand Erica’s capabilities using generative AI (GenAI) to answer questions related to the bank’s products and services.

Other AI-driven tools, such as ask MERRILL® and ask PRIVATE BANK®, are enabling teams to efficiently access client information and market opportunities, registering 23 million interactions in 2024 alone – a 1 million increase from the previous year.

The bank is also using internally developed GenAI systems to summarise client calls at contact centres, freeing up employees for more strategic work. Enhancements to this system will soon extend to other communication channels.

Training is another area seeing the AI touch. Through its in-house training hub, The Academy, the bank uses AI simulators to help staff rehearse customer interactions. Last year, employees completed over 1 million such simulations.

Beyond front-line functions, the bank is turning to GenAI for software development, achieving coding efficiency gains of over 20 per cent, and automating meeting preparation processes, potentially saving tens of thousands of hours annually. AI tools are also streamlining client service desks and helping Global Markets staff parse research and commentary faster.

Supporting this broad transformation is the bank’s robust intellectual property portfolio. Bank of America holds nearly 7,400 granted and pending patents – 1,200 of which focus on AI and machine learning, more than half already granted – making it the most prolific financial institution in terms of U.S. AI patents.

With a technology budget of US$13 billion annually and US$4 billion earmarked for new tech initiatives in 2025, Bank of America is signalling that its AI playbook is far from complete.