AI Adoption Trends in US Banking

AI Adoption Trends
in US Banking

Anonymized tier-level analysis across 49 banks, 8 quarters, and 5 signal sources. No bank names — just the patterns.

The 49 largest U.S. banks by total assets, spanning megabanks to community institutions, each assessed individually across every quarter.

Banks Analyzed

Two full years of tracking, from Q1 2024 through Q4 2025, capturing the shift from early AI experimentation to strategic commitment.

Quarters (Q1 '24 – Q4 '25)

SEC filings (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K), earnings call transcripts, regulatory signals, public announcements, and industry research — evaluated independently each quarter.

Signal Sources Per Bank

Total keyword hits across 19 AI terms in annual and quarterly filings. Q1 spikes reflect 10-K filing seasonality, not adoption events.

1,051

AI Mentions in SEC Filings

AI mentions in annual filings jumped from 206 in Q1 2024 to 528 in Q1 2025 — the clearest apples-to-apples measure of rising disclosure intensity.

2.6x

Year-over-Year Growth

From broad terms like “artificial intelligence” to emerging ones like “agentic” and “copilot,” capturing how the language banks use to describe AI is evolving.

AI Keywords Tracked

Only 12 of the 26 banks that reached the highest signal rating held it for three or more consecutive quarters — the credibility filter separating strategy from hype.

Banks With Sustained AI Commitment

Nearly half of all banks studied never achieved a HIGH rating in any quarter — overwhelmingly regional and community tier institutions.

Banks Never Reaching Strong Signal

Zero appearances before Q3 2025, then six across two quarters and multiple tiers — marking a narrative shift from AI-as-tool to AI-as-autonomous-actor.

First “Agentic AI” Mentions

2-min brief

Research Framework

Methodology

Signal Sources

Each bank was audited across five signal categories per quarter:

10-K / Annual Reports — SEC filings, annual reports, investor presentations
Earnings Calls — Quarterly transcripts (CEO/CFO commentary + analyst Q&A)
Regulatory — Fed, OCC, FDIC enforcement actions, guidance, or supervisory mentions
Announcements — Press releases, partnerships, product launches, executive hires
Research — Analyst reports, trade press (American Banker, PYMNTS, etc.), industry indexes

Rating Scale

Rating	Definition
HIGH	Multiple AI mentions across 2+ source types; named products, quantified metrics, or strategic framing
MOD	AI referenced in 1–2 sources; directional but not dominant narrative
LOW	Tangential or defensive AI mention (risk factors, generic “technology investment”)
NONE	No AI-related signal found in any of the 5 source types for that quarter

Coverage Period

Q1 2024 through Q4 2025 (8 quarters). Banks are organized into five tiers by approximate total assets: Megabank (>$1T), Large ($200B–$1T), Super-Regional ($80B–$200B), Regional ($40B–$80B), and Community (<$40B).

Scope

49 of the 50 largest US banks by total assets. The audit captures AI adoption signals — not just mentions — across public disclosures, executive commentary, regulatory posture, and market activity.

Disclaimer: Based on analysis of public SEC filings, earnings transcripts, and industry research. Ratings reflect publicly available signals only. Individual bank names are excluded from the public trends dashboard. Not investment advice.

Quarterly Updates

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