Lloyds Banking Group expects to derive more than £100million in value from its artificial intelligence initiatives in 2026, doubling the £50million secured during the previous year.
The projections signal a major shift towards “Agentic AI”—autonomous agents capable of taking action rather than just generating content—as the bank seeks to cement its leadership position in the sector.
From Generative to Agentic
In 2025, the Group successfully rolled out over 50 AI use cases, which it credits with delivering roughly £50million in value. These initial deployments focused heavily on transforming customer interactions and streamlining internal operations.
However, the strategy for 2026 indicates a pivot toward more advanced applications. Lloyds confirmed it plans to “scale agentic AI across the bank,” a move that will involve launching multiple new use cases and making significant strategic investments to deliver faster, seamless experiences for its 28 million customers.
A key milestone for the year ahead will be the full customer rollout of the Group’s AI-powered financial assistant. Moving beyond basic queries, the assistant is designed to eventually help customers navigate complex financial needs including savings, borrowing, and investments.
Ron van Kemenade, group chief operating officer at Lloyds Banking Group, commented: “AI is already delivering real value for our business, our colleagues and our customers. The progress we’ve made this year shows the scale of the opportunity ahead. By continuing to extend our leadership in AI and scaling the most impactful technologies across the Group, we can unlock new opportunities to better support our customers, strengthen our operations and realise further financial benefits in the years ahead.”
Tools delivering tangible results
The bank highlighted several internal tools that are already driving efficiency:
- Athena: An AI-powered internal search assistant used by 20,000 colleagues, which has reduced information search times by 66 per cent.
- GitHub Copilot: Currently utilized by 5,000 engineers, this tool has driven a 50 per cent improvement in converting code for established systems.
- AI HR Assistant: The tool is reportedly resolving 90 per cent of HR queries correctly on the first contact.
To support this technological acceleration, Lloyds is launching a new AI Academy aimed at its 67,000-strong workforce. The initiative is designed to improve AI literacy across the organisation, ensuring teams have the skills to use the technology responsibly.
The Group’s aggressive adoption strategy appears to be gaining external traction; Lloyds rose 12 places in the Evident AI Global Index last year, marking the strongest improvement of any UK bank.
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