BoE: 80% of UK Finance Firms Run AI Agents
The Bank of England and FCA said Oct. 26 that 86% of 196 surveyed UK financial firms use AI and 80% have deployed AI agents, mostly for decision support. Only 2% report broad agent autonomy, while third parties now supply 39% of AI systems.
The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority said on Oct. 26 that 86% of UK financial firms they surveyed now use artificial intelligence, and 80% have already deployed AI agents. But only 2% of firms give those agents broad autonomy, according to the regulators' fourth joint survey of AI in UK financial services.
Key takeaways
- 86% of 196 responding firms use AI, up from 75% in 2024 and 58% in 2022, though the regulators caution that respondent populations differ.
- 80% have AI agents in production, but 80% use them for decision support, with humans deciding and executing; 2% report broad autonomy.
- Third-party providers now supply 39% of reported AI systems and 53% of high-materiality ones, up from 33% and 35% in 2024.
How many UK financial firms use AI in 2026
The report draws on responses from 196 firms, 101 larger and 95 smaller. Of those, 105 completed the full survey and the rest a short form. It follows earlier rounds in 2019, 2022 and 2024.
Every responding UK bank and international bank reported using AI, as did 93% of insurers. Among full-survey respondents, 94% had at least one AI system in production, rising to 99% when planned deployments over the next 12 months are included.
Use is concentrated. Almost half of firms reported ten or fewer AI systems, while the top ten firms accounted for 43% of all systems reported.
Generative AI now makes up most systems
Generative AI accounted for 56% of all reported AI systems. In 2024, foundation models made up 17% of use cases, but the regulators say the two measures are not directly comparable.
Operations and IT is where generative AI spreads fastest: 78% of respondents had at least one such system there. That business area held about 31% of all reported AI systems, up from about 22% in 2024. Enterprise productivity was the most common use, at 86% of firms.
AI agents in banking: wide use, tight limits
Agents are already common. Enterprise agents were in use at 61.4% of firms and coding agents at 51.5%, and a further 14% of firms planned to deploy agents within a year.
| Level | Share of firms |
|---|---|
| Decision support (humans decide and execute) | 80% |
| Constrained execution | 46% |
| Conditional autonomy | 22% |
| Broad autonomy | 2% |
Even counting planned deployments, no more than 9% of firms expect agents to approve or decline customer outcomes, execute trades, initiate payments or change limits. Some 16% use agents for automated customer communications, rising to 34% with plans included.
Context: third parties and cyber risk
Reliance on outside vendors is growing. The top three cloud and compute providers accounted for 79% of reported relationships, and the top three model API and hosting providers for 54%. Firms said they had deep knowledge of 77% of internal systems but only 24% of third-party ones, and 81% relied on vendor assurance and contracts instead.
Risk perceptions are rising. 57% rated cyber risk amplification as high or severe today, rising to 80% over one to three years. 88% expect evolving frontier AI cyber capabilities to have a moderate or high impact within two years. Only 7% of systems were rated high materiality, down from 16% in 2024, though the absolute number rose.
What's next
Firms expect bigger payoffs. On a 1-to-5 scale, operational efficiency scored 2.95 as a current benefit and 4.34 three years out; revenue generation rose from 1.87 to 3.34. Governance is maturing unevenly: 94% have firm-wide AI policies, but only about half report ongoing monitoring after deployment. The regulators describe the report as a summary of responses, not a full assessment of the sector.
FAQ
Who ran the survey?
The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, jointly. It is their fourth AI survey, after 2019, 2022 and 2024.
Are UK banks letting AI agents move money?
Rarely. No more than 9% of firms expect agents to initiate payments, execute trades or approve customer outcomes, even including planned deployments.
Can the 86% be compared with 2024?
Only with care. The regulators note that respondent populations and some question wording changed between surveys.
References
- Artificial intelligence in UK financial services - 2026 — Bank of England and FCA (Oct. 26, 2026)
- AI in UK financial services — Financial Conduct Authority (2024 survey research note)
- BoE and FCA publish joint report on AI in UK financial services — Global Regulation Tomorrow (Oct. 26, 2026)
Editor responsible for AI Newsway. Writes about AI, developer tools, cloud and productivity technology.
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