AI in Finance: It No Longer Just Answers Questions—It Does the Work
Written by Sergio Saravia Espinoza
Specialist in AI Applied to Finance | Lecturer in the Specialization Programme in AI Applied to Finance at La Salle Campus Barcelona
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Finance is evolving at an unprecedented pace.
Understanding this transformation is no longer a matter of innovation—it is a matter of competitiveness.
And yet, one of the things that surprises me most when I speak with finance teams is this: almost everyone uses AI, but the reality is that very few are truly making the most of its full potential.
Let me explain.
They open a chatbot, ask it to summarise a report, copy the response, paste it into Excel, and carry on with their day. Useful? Absolutely. But it's like using a high-end sports car just to drive the hundred metres from your house to the bakery.
The reality is very different.
An EY survey revealed that 77% of banks have already implemented at least one generative AI application, but only 31% have taken the leap towards agentic AI.
And that, precisely, is the difference that will shape the future of the financial sector.
Because that shift will determine which professionals and organisations remain competitive over the next five years.
What is agentic AI, and why is it transforming finance?
Before discussing its impact, it's worth clarifying a concept that we will be hearing much more often.
Forget the term for a moment. The real difference lies in the verbs.
The AI that almost everyone uses today responds. You ask, it answers. You decide, you execute, you review.
You're still the one doing the work.
Agentic AI acts. You give it an objective: "reconcile these accounts", "investigate this fraud alert", "prepare the financial close". It breaks the task down, accesses the necessary systems, makes decisions within predefined limits, and delivers the completed work back to you. And importantly, it does so with a full audit trail—not blindly.
It's the difference between an assistant that tells you how to do something and one that actually does it.
And this isn't theory. In May, FIS announced an AI agent for financial crime investigations that reduces anti-money laundering investigations from hours to minutes. It automatically gathers evidence and records from the bank's different systems and builds the entire case. BMO is among the first institutions to deploy it.
Think about it. What once took an analyst an entire morning can now be completed while they're having their coffee.
Why waiting may be the biggest risk for finance professionals
The bottleneck is you (and that's actually good news).
There's one statistic that I find more revealing than any other: 99% of organisations want to deploy AI agents into production, yet only 11% have successfully done so.
Why? Not because of the technology. It's because of messy data, poor governance, fear, or simply not knowing where to start.
In other words, the barrier isn't technical. It's about mindset.
And that's great news, because mindset is something you can change. Start by asking yourself one simple question every time you face a repetitive task: does this require my judgement, or does it simply require someone to follow a set of rules?
Everything in the second category is a strong candidate for an AI agent.
You don't need to automate your entire financial close tomorrow. You simply need to start looking at your work as two lists: things to delegate and things to decide.
What's truly not optional
Let me clarify something, because I dislike articles that promise the impossible.
AI agents make mistakes. They hallucinate. Regulation is still catching up. Human oversight is essential for decisions that truly matter—and in finance, that's almost everything. Anyone who tells you this is simply a matter of "set it up and forget about it" is selling you something.
But "it has risks" is not the same as "I can ignore it".
What's no longer optional isn't buying the latest tool. It's changing the question you ask yourself every morning. Moving from "How do I do this?" to "Should I be the one doing this?"
Repeating that question every day is thinking in an agentic way.
And it's free. You can start today with the next repetitive reconciliation task sitting on your desk.
Frequently Asked Questions about AI in Finance
What is Artificial Intelligence in Finance?
Artificial Intelligence in Finance involves using intelligent algorithms and systems to automate processes, analyse large volumes of data, detect risks, optimise operations and improve decision-making across banks, businesses and finance departments.
What is the difference between generative AI and agentic AI?
Generative AI is designed to answer questions, generate content or summarise information based on user prompts.
Agentic AI goes one step further. It can plan and execute complete tasks autonomously based on a defined objective, interact with multiple systems and provide a full record of its actions for human review.
Which financial tasks can AI automate?
Today, Artificial Intelligence can help automate processes such as:
- Bank reconciliations.
- Financial reporting.
- Document classification and analysis.
- Fraud detection.
- Regulatory compliance.
- Risk analysis.
- Financial forecasting.
- Internal support and customer service enquiries.
This allows finance professionals to dedicate more time to analysis, strategic thinking and decision-making.
Will AI replace finance professionals?
No.
Although Artificial Intelligence can automate many repetitive tasks, human oversight remains essential, particularly in such a highly regulated industry as finance.
The role of finance professionals is evolving towards higher-value responsibilities, including interpreting results, managing risk, defining business strategy and making critical decisions.
Why is it important to study AI applied to Finance?
The demand for professionals capable of working with Artificial Intelligence is growing rapidly.
Understanding how these technologies work, identifying automation opportunities and applying AI with professional judgement will enable finance specialists to adapt to the evolving market and lead the digital transformation of their organisations.
Take the next step towards the future of finance.
Artificial Intelligence is no longer a future trend. It is already transforming the way businesses, banks and finance departments operate around the world.
If you want to learn how to apply AI in a practical way, understand how intelligent agents work and develop the skills that organisations are already looking for, discover the new Specialization Programme in AI Applied to Finance at La Salle Campus Barcelona.
SPECIALIZATION COURSES | LA SALLE-URL