AI Adoption by BofA's Global Workforce Improves Productivity, Client Service

Rhea-AI Summary

Bank of America (BAC) reports significant progress in AI adoption across its global operations, with over 90% of its 213,000 employees now utilizing AI-driven virtual assistants. The company's AI initiatives have shown remarkable results, including:

The Erica virtual assistant has recorded 2.5 billion client interactions since 2018, with 20 million active users. The employee version has reduced IT service desk calls by more than 50%. The ask MERRILL and ask Private Banking tools logged 23 million interactions in 2024, up 1 million from 2023.

BAC holds nearly 7,400 patents, with over 1,200 focused on AI and machine learning. The company invests $13 billion annually in technology, with $4 billion allocated to new initiatives in 2025. Notable AI implementations include coding assistance yielding 20% efficiency gains, automated client meeting preparation saving thousands of hours, and GenAI-powered research summaries for trading teams.

Positive

• 90% employee adoption of AI virtual assistants with 50% reduction in IT service desk calls
• 2.5 billion client interactions through Erica virtual assistant
• 23 million interactions with ask MERRILL and ask Private Banking tools in 2024
• 20% efficiency improvement in software development through AI
• Strong patent portfolio with 1,200+ AI-focused patents
• $13 billion annual technology investment with $4 billion for new initiatives

Negative

• High technology investment costs requiring significant capital allocation
• Heavy reliance on AI systems could pose operational risks if systems fail

More than 90% of employees use AI-driven virtual assistant for increased efficiency

CHARLOTTE, N.C. and LONDON and HONG KONG, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America uses innovative technology to meet and anticipate the needs of its clients and 213,000 employees. For many years, this commitment has carried through in its approach to AI and machine learning. The technology is embedded today across the company's business lines and areas including global technology, operations, and training.

"AI is having a transformative effect on employee efficiency and operational excellence," said Aditya Bhasin, Chief Technology & Information Officer at Bank of America. "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." 

Seven years ago, in 2018, Bank of America launched Erica^®, the first widely adopted AI-driven virtual financial assistant, within its mobile app. Since then, clients have interacted with Erica more than 2.5 billion times, with 20 million clients now actively using the virtual assistant.

Bank of America's approach to AI includes human oversight, transparency, and accountability for all outcomes. In addition to recently shared examples of how AI benefits clients and employees, our employees' use of AI continues to expand in areas such as:

• Erica for Employees – Building upon Erica's success, in 2020, Bank of America launched Erica for Employees, an AI-driven internal virtual assistant which was rapidly adopted during the pandemic by employees seeking technology support in areas such as mobile device password reset, device activation, and many others. In 2023, the functionality was expanded to assist with additional topics such as where to review health benefits, locate payroll and tax forms, and more.
  
  Today, over 90% of employees use Erica for Employees, with the virtual assistant having reduced calls into the IT service desk by more than 50%. The capabilities will expand this year to offer enhanced search and assistance across a broader set of topics – including answers to employee questions about Bank of America products and services – with plans to leverage both AI and generative AI (GenAI).

• ask MERRILL® and ask Private Banking® – Leveraging the technology behind Erica, these tools help Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank teams efficiently curate information to deliver superior client experiences. When needed, the chat functionality can also connect teams with experts at the bank for help with more complex requests. In 2024, there were more than 23 million interactions with ask MERRILL and ask Private Banking, an increase of 1 million over 2023, helping employees more proactively connect with clients about timely and relevant opportunities.
   
• Capturing client feedback – This internally-developed GenAI capability is used by Bank of America call centers to summarize call recordings, which helps increase efficiency and ensure the company remains in tune with clients' needs and improves their experiences. Previously, teammates would manually generate these summaries. Future enhancements this year will extend to other communication channels.
  
  
• The Academy – Bank of America's onboarding, education, and professional development organization uses AI to provide interactive coaching through conversation simulators that enable teammates to practice different types of client interactions and increase proficiency through real-time feedback. Employees completed over 1 million simulations last year, with many noting that practicing client conversations helps them deliver better and more consistent service.

Additional AI deployments underway helping to increase employee productivity and improve client service include:

• Coding assistance – Bank of America software developers are using a GenAI-based tool to assist with code writing and optimization, through which they have experienced efficiency gains of over 20%.
   
• Preparing for client meetings – Developing materials in preparation for meetings with current and prospective business clients can take several hours per meeting. AI helps automate and standardize the creation of drafts of materials for meetings with Bank of America Business Banking and Global Commercial Banking clients, with the opportunity for employees to reallocate tens of thousands of hours per year to client engagement and growth.
   
• Contact center optimization – A modernized desktop tool leveraging AI proactively provides guided assistance to customer service specialists in Bank of America contact centers, enabling them to deliver a more personalized client experience, increase client satisfaction, and reduce call handling times.
   
• Research summaries – An internally-developed GenAI platform enables the Global Markets sales and trading team to search, summarize, and synthesize our industry-leading research and market commentary more quickly and efficiently.

AI Patent Portfolio
Bank of America holds nearly 7,400 granted patents and pending patent applications, the most U.S. granted patents of any financial services company. More than 1,200 of these patents are AI and machine learning focused – representing 17% of the patent portfolio – and more than half have already been granted.

Other technology categories in which new patents were granted last year include information security, online and mobile banking, payments, data analytics, and augmented and virtual reality. This is thanks to the company's more than 7,800 talented inventors in 14 countries and 42 U.S. states, and a culture that empowers teammates to explore and develop innovative solutions for individuals and businesses globally.

Bank of America spends $13 billion annually on technology, of which approximately $4 billion will be directed to new technology initiatives in 2025.

Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 69 million consumer and small business clients with 3,700 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 ATMs (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 58 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BAC).

Reporters May Contact:
Matt Card, Bank of America
Phone: 1.202.579.6879
matthew.card@bofa.com

Catherine Page, Bank of America
Phone: 1.704.519.7314
catherine.page@bofa.com

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SOURCE Bank of America Corporation

FAQ

How many employees at Bank of America (BAC) are currently using AI-driven virtual assistants?

Over 90% of Bank of America's 213,000 employees use AI-driven virtual assistants for increased efficiency.

What is the total investment Bank of America (BAC) makes in technology annually?

BAC invests $13 billion annually in technology, with $4 billion specifically allocated to new technology initiatives in 2025.

How many AI and machine learning patents does BAC currently hold?

BAC holds over 1,200 AI and machine learning focused patents, representing 17% of their total patent portfolio of 7,400 patents.

What efficiency gains has BAC achieved through AI in software development?

BAC's software developers have experienced efficiency gains of over 20% using GenAI-based coding assistance tools.

How many client interactions has BAC's Erica virtual assistant processed since 2018?

Erica has processed more than 2.5 billion client interactions since 2018, with 20 million clients actively using the virtual assistant.