TLDRs;
- Bank of America will invest $4B in 2025 to expand AI across all business units and boost efficiency.
- The bank trains 213,000 employees to use AI for automation, focusing on productivity rather than job cuts.
- AI agents already helped 18,000 developers accelerate software tasks, reducing workload and turnaround time.
- Larger U.S. banks are racing to adopt AI tools as industry-wide automation and efficiency pressures rise.
Bank of America is taking a major leap in its digital transformation strategy with plans to invest $4 billion in new technology, including extensive AI deployments across all departments.
The investment, drawn from the bank’s $13 billion annual technology budget, is part of an ambitious effort to increase efficiency, strengthen operations, and position the institution at the forefront of AI-driven banking.
As the second-largest bank in the United States, BoFA is intensifying its enterprise-wide push to integrate AI into everyday processes, an effort that now spans its entire workforce of 213,000 employees. According to the bank’s chief technology and information officer, the goal is not to replace jobs but to equip employees with AI tools that automate repetitive tasks and improve decision-making.
Enterprise AI Deployment Expands
Over the past year, BoFA’s internal developer ecosystem has been a proving ground for these enhanced AI capabilities.
The bank reports that more than 18,000 developers have incorporated AI agents into their workflows, enabling faster testing cycles, improved code quality, and rapid completion of previously time-consuming tasks.
These tools have become an integral part of the bank’s software development environment, helping employees gain momentum in areas that traditionally suffer from heavy manual workloads.
Virtual Assistant Erica Reaches New Milestones
One of Bank of America’s most successful technology products, the digital assistant Erica, continues to transform customer service operations.
Since its introduction in 2018, Erica has recorded more than 3 billion interactions, handling everything from transaction disputes to routine client requests.
According to internal estimates, the assistant now performs digital support tasks equivalent to the workload of 11,000 staff members, enabling human teams to focus on more complex client matters. Erica’s expanded feature set and widespread adoption underscore BoFA’s strategy of using automation to assist its workforce.
Efficiency Goals Drive Aggressive 2025 Tech Spend
A central motivation behind the new $4B investment is the bank’s target to improve operational efficiency. BoFA aims to reduce its efficiency ratio, from 64% during the first three quarters of 2025 to as low as 55%, by scaling advanced technologies that streamline operations.
Tools like CashPro Data Intelligence, designed for corporate treasury clients, and Merrill SENSE, which analyzes advisor notes to uncover lending opportunities, have already demonstrated the revenue-generation potential of data-driven automation.
Merrill SENSE alone identified $2.5 billion in custom lending prospects, highlighting the broader value of AI-enabled insights.
Banking Industry Races Toward AI Adoption
BoFA’s expansion comes as the broader U.S. banking sector accelerates its shift toward AI-driven operations. By early 2025, nearly 47% of U.S. banks had fully deployed generative AI tools, up sharply from just 10% in 2023.
Major institutions like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley are rolling out AI-powered applications to assist financial advisors, boost productivity, and streamline compliance functions. Meanwhile, regional banks face mounting pressure to improve workforce training and adopt automation technologies before the market becomes saturated.
Federal Reserve data shows that three in four large companies now use AI in some capacity, and most intend to retrain employees rather than reduce headcount. However, despite the rapid adoption, only 26% of organizations have achieved meaningful value from AI beyond pilot stages, suggesting that execution, not experimentation, will define competitive advantage.
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