US Consumers Remain Wary of Banks’ AI Chatbots

Banks are deploying AI-powered virtual assistants to provide round-the-clock service and reduce support costs, but financial conversations carry unusually high stakes. Errors can expose sensitive data, facilitate fraud or influence decisions about money. Consumers therefore tend to hold banks to a stricter standard than technology companies, making transparency, data governance and clear limits on automated advice central to whether customers will use the tools.

A recent survey found that most US consumers still do not trust banks’ chatbots and scrutinize banks’ use of AI more closely than similar technology elsewhere. Experts say lenders should strengthen fraud controls and data management while improving the accuracy, traceability and escalation paths of generative AI services. Failure to build confidence could leave banks vulnerable as third-party AI tools compete to become consumers’ preferred gateway for financial guidance.