Lloyds Banking Group is piloting a multi‑feature, AI‑powered financial assistant within its mobile app, positioning the tool as a 24/7 “financial companion” that offers personalised coaching, spending insights and guidance on savings and investments.

The UK bank said the assistant is currently being tested by 7,000 staff members before a broader customer rollout and that it will be the “UK’s first agentic AI financial assistant” when it launches in early 2026. Built on Lloyds Banking Group’s generative AI and agentic framework that mines curated bank data, the system aims to provide accurate, tailored responses and can route users to human experts when required.

Ranil Boteju, chief data and analytics officer at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We believe this innovative tool will not only provide our customers with personalised, round‑the‑clock support, but also set a new benchmark for the responsible and effective use of AI in UK banking. Importantly, it provides instant and free access to personalised financial coaching.”

The bank’s announcement stressed the deployment of agentic AI to break down requests, plan actions and execute tasks using tools, including converting natural language to code for transaction queries. Lloyds described the assistant as enabling natural conversations and “hyper‑personalised” support, with memory to offer a more holistic experience and guardrails to ensure safe, controlled behaviour.

Findings from Lloyds Banking Group’s latest Consumer Digital Index underpin the launch. The bank reports that 56 per cent of adults, around 28.8 million people, have used AI in the past 12 months to help manage their money, with ChatGPT the most popular platform among six in ten users. Yet 80 per cent worry about inaccurate or outdated information and 69 per cent are concerned guidance will lack personalisation. Boteju said the assistant is “underpinned by LBG’s robust AI assurance framework and guardrails, helping deliver safe, explainable and regulated AI‑driven interactions.”

The first release will focus on two features: a conversational tool for personalised spending insights, and a savings and investment tool to support financial decision‑making. Lloyds said it plans to expand the assistant across its full product suite, including mortgages, car finance and protection needs, from 2026 onwards.

Bloomberg reported that Lloyds is conducting the staff pilot while refining capabilities ahead of public availability. The bank said the assistant’s architecture embeds human accountability and explainability, differentiating it from general‑purpose models by relying on curated bank data within the secure environment of its app.

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