AI-powered agentic customers will fundamentally reshape how banks operate
According to new data from analysts Neurons Lab, within the next two to three years, consumers are expected to grant full financial autonomy to AI agents, forcing banks to rethink everything from pricing and risk to customer relationships. Agentic AI is expected to lead to $3tn in corporate.
Agentic customers are part of a broader “machine customer” trend identified by Gartner, in which non-human economic actors obtain goods and services in exchange for payment, performing roles once handled solely by individuals. As these AI systems become more sophisticated and accessible, their impact on retail and commercial banking is expected to accelerate rapidly.
In response, global analytics software leader FICO is highlighting the potential threats for the financial services sector as a new era of agentic customers – AI agents – start acting on behalf of consumers. To avoid becoming commoditised if tech giants or specialised fintech platforms develop trusted and widely used consumer agents, banks must rapidly adapt their technology, processes and strategies to support real time, agent-to-agent negotiations.
“Intelligent agentic customers are capable of negotiating deals, comparing offers, executing transactions autonomously, and represent a profound shift in customer behaviour and expectations,” commented Rachael Hadaway, vice president of Product Management at FICO. “Banks therefore need to prepare for a future where real-time, agent-to-agent negotiation become the norm.”
The shift will not happen overnight, but industry experts predict it will unfold rapidly now that initial adoption has begun, and it is expected that customers will start granting full autonomy to their agents within two to three years. In response, banks need to implement a complete rethink of technology, processes and the customer relationship model.
As well as banks evolving, regulatory frameworks must adapt to meet the new landscape. The other issue identified by FICO is that financial regulations designed for human-centric interactions – from GDPR and consumer protection laws to KYC requirements and fiduciary responsibilities – will require adaptation to accommodate agent-to-agent negotiations while maintaining necessary safeguards. Regulators typically move slower than technology, creating potential friction points as banks navigate compliance requirements for autonomous systems operating at machine speed.
“Banks that invest early in agent-centric capabilities will gain a decisive advantage,” said Hadaway. “Those that delay risk being reduced to commoditised service providers. The shift to agentic customers has already begun, and the timeline for change is compressed.
“Banks must act now to prepare for a market in which autonomous agents – not humans – become the primary decision makers in everyday financial interactions. Centric capabilities will gain a decisive advantage.”
FICO’s Top Tips for Banks
Successfully serving agentic customers will require banks to restructure their technology, processes, and organisational capabilities across multiple dimensions:
- Technology: Build platforms that facilitate secure, scalable agent to agent negotiations with advanced pricing and decisioning capabilities.
- Processes: Redesign workflows to deliver approvals and product configurations in real time and evolve risk and compliance frameworks to account for autonomous actors.
- Organisation: Develop internal expertise in managing and collaborating with AI agents – while protecting systems from increasingly sophisticated attempts to exploit algorithmic weaknesses.
The banks best positioned to thrive in the agentic customer era will share several key characteristics:
- Technology-Forward: Banks that have already invested heavily in APIs, cloud infrastructure, and AI capabilities will have significant advantages.
- Agile, Digital-Native: Traditional banks burdened by legacy systems and processes will struggle to achieve the speed and flexibility required for agent interactions.
- Platform-Oriented: Platforms capable of participating in broader financial ecosystems will be more successful than those trying to maintain closed, proprietary systems.
- Risk-Adaptive: Banks that can quickly develop new risk management frameworks for autonomous interactions will gain competitive advantages.