Bank of America’s Moynihan Says AI Gaining Economic Benefits

Bank of America expects artificial intelligence (AI) to have a growing effect on the economy next year and beyond.

Speaking Monday (Dec. 22) with Bloomberg Television, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said that AI had an increasing impact this year and that it will accelerate in the coming years.

Moynihan said this while sharing that Bank of America expects the U.S. economy to grow 2.4% in 2026, up from 2% this year, Bloomberg reported Monday.

“AI is kicking in more and more, and so it’s not all attributable to AI, but that’s having a marginal impact that’s pretty strong,” Moynihan said, per the report.

The Bank of America Institute said in October that AI was fueling American economic growth, though its effect on employment was limited.

AI-related capital expenditures, especially in software and computing, were key drivers of GDP growth, the institute said in a report.

“After a slight decline in Q1, GDP growth rebounded in Q2 with 3.8% for an annualized rate of 1.6% in 1H,” the report said. “One major reason for the resiliency in growth to date is the investment being poured into technology- and AI-related categories.”

The report added that there was little sign that AI was causing steep job losses, contrary to the fears of some observers that such losses could occur.

Moynihan said in November that Bank of America has embedded AI in its day-to-day operations and that the technology is helping the bank personalize client experiences, streamline capabilities, identify new opportunities and make efficiency gains across underwriting, audit, legal and finance functions.

Speaking during the bank’s Nov. 5 investor day, Moynihan added that the bank’s virtual assistant Erica had handled 3 billion customer interactions since its launch and was allowing customers to manage their finances around the clock.

During his Monday interview with Bloomberg Television, Moynihan said that the number of questions that Erica can answer has increased from 200 to 800.

“We’ll be applying more and more of automated intelligence — or augmented intelligence, as we call it, with a person using AI, using that to be more effective — and that’ll affect all the businesses,” Moynihan said, per the report.