Agentic artificial intelligence emerges as fintech’s next game-changer. With 70% of banking leaders already using it and global investments growing by 18.7%, AI’s ability to make autonomous decisions is redefining the future of financial services.
2025 marks a turning point in the evolution of artificial intelligence in the financial sector. It’s no longer about chatbots or virtual assistants responding to predefined questions: agentic AI represents a qualitative leap toward systems capable of analyzing complex contexts, making autonomous decisions, and orchestrating end-to-end processes without human intervention.
The Rise of Intelligent Agents
The numbers speak clearly. According to the 2025 AI Index from Stanford, global investments in generative AI reached $33.9 billion, with growth of 18.7% compared to 2023. But it’s agentic AI that’s capturing attention: an MIT Technology Review survey reveals that 70% of banking leaders already use this technology in some operational capacity.
“Agentic AI possesses the ability to make complex, independent decisions, going well beyond traditional or generative AI,” emphasizes an IBM report. These systems can autonomously manage investment portfolios, renegotiate mortgages when rates drop, or optimize insurance premiums in real-time.
75% of banks with assets exceeding $100 billion are expected to fully integrate AI strategies by the end of 2025, according to nCino. Overall spending on AI in financial services is projected at $97 billion by 2027, with the generative AI market in banking growing from $1.16 billion in 2024 to $3.39 billion by 2029.
Concrete Applications and Use Cases
In 2024, 78% of banks adopted generative AI with a tactical approach, while only 8% developed it systematically at the enterprise level, according to IBM. This scenario is rapidly evolving: financial institutions are transitioning from pilot experiments to concrete, strategic implementations, redefining their approach to artificial intelligence.
Applications range from fraud prevention to hyper-targeted service personalization, from document process automation to advanced credit scoring systems.
Emerging technologies include multimodal AI that simultaneously processes textual, visual, and voice data, and federated learning that enables collaboration between institutions while preserving data privacy. Boston Consulting Group describes agentic AI as “potentially as transformative as the internet or mobile.”
The European Regulatory Framework
Europe is defining operational boundaries with the EU AI Act, which entered into force with rules for generative models applicable from August 2025. The act classifies AI applications by risk levels, imposing increasing obligations for high-risk systems in the financial sector.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority opened its “AI Input Zone” between November 2024 and January 2025 to gather stakeholder feedback, while compliance departments must now adapt to new regulatory responsibilities.
Challenges and Future Outlook
Despite the enthusiasm, significant challenges persist: transparency of algorithmic decisions, bias management, personal data protection, and legal liability for autonomous decisions. As BCG highlights, “the next leap—agentic AI—has the potential to be transformative, with immediate impact on software and financial services.”
The question is no longer whether AI will transform financial services, but how quickly institutions can balance innovation, security, and compliance in an increasingly autonomous ecosystem.
