The robots aren’t coming for your job, yet.
Two-thirds of financial services companies will likely see staff numbers rise initially as they adopt artificial intelligence, according to a survey, raising doubts that the new technology will lead to quick cost savings.
More than 70% of respondents in a survey by Bloomberg Intelligence also said they expect AI adoption to lead to higher operating costs over the next three years. Most still anticipate productivity to rise more quickly, according to the survey of 151 senior employees in the financial services sector published Wednesday.
“The findings reinforce that AI’s early phase in financial services is likely to be more about capability building than cost reduction,” analysts Diksha Gera and Tomasz Noetzel wrote in the report published Wednesday. “As automation scales, we see potential for cost ratios to normalize after 2027-28, unlocking efficiency-driven margin expansion.”
Companies across financial services are seeking to use AI to speed up services and cut costs, with firms including Dutch lender ING Groep NV, German insurer Allianz SE, and US bank Goldman Sachs tying the technology to headcount reductions.
But concerns about risk and compliance issues have so far resulted in a relatively slow adoption compared with industries such as retail or technology, the BI authors wrote.
In the long run, however, market observers generally agree that AI will have a significant and lasting impact on the industry, with UBS Group AG research saying that some of that may start becoming visible next year.
“There’s a decent probability that in 2026 the equity market decides — perhaps on still-scant hard evidence — that banks will be one of the most significant beneficiaries of the rapidly improving technology on offer,” UBS analyst Jason Napier said in a note on Tuesday.
Respondents across industries rated the scale of AI disruption as either “high” or “very high.” Pharma companies see AI cutting drug-development costs 16%, while media leaders anticipate lower content costs and personalized offerings, according to the survey. Consumer firms see AI agents becoming shopping companions.
Executives across industries are “racing to wire it into their business cores,” BI analyst Anurag Rana said. “AI is no longer a side project.”
Copyright 2025 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.