Banks Embrace AI but Only 21% Track Revenue Impact
Banks are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence across lending, customer service and back-office operations, but wider deployment has not made its financial value easier to demonstrate. An nCino survey shows that most institutions have incorporated AI into their development plans. Without consistent measures for revenue gains and return on investment, executives may struggle to identify which applications merit expansion or justify their capital allocation to shareholders.
The latest survey found that 91% of banks have established an AI strategy, while only 21% measure the technology’s contribution to revenue growth. More than four in five banking executives currently prioritize AI implementation over return on investment, with performance indicators focused largely on employee productivity and process automation. The findings highlight a widening measurement gap as banks scale AI systems without clearly quantifying their commercial and financial returns.
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The history behind this eventBanks Sharpen Metrics to Prove AI Returns
Banks are moving generative AI from experiments in customer service, document processing and software development toward core workflows, even as spending on models, computing, data governance and talent rises. That makes measurement central to deciding which projects should scale. Faster processing or greater employee capacity may signal operational progress, but neither automatically improves earnings. Without agreed baselines and ownership, executives cannot compare use cases, allocate capital consistently or hold business units accountable for results.
As of August 2026, PwC’s latest survey found that 77% of executives at U.S. financial institutions said most AI investments had yet to show measurable ROI. The report did not disclose a single industrywide investment amount or payback period. Specialists say banks should establish pre-deployment baselines, then connect measures such as cycle time and error rates to cost savings, revenue and avoided losses. Each initiative should also have a designated business owner and undergo continuing validation before a broader rollout.
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