Toyota Financial Services is harnessing generative AI to enhance productivity and modernize its capabilities.
As the auto lender explores generative AI, its first concern has been protecting consumer data, Brajesh Kumar, chief technology officer at Toyota Financial Services (TFS), said during a panel at the American Financial Services Association 2025 Vehicle Finance Conference this week. “We wanted our teams to start learning generative AI and start figuring out what are the use cases.”
The captive lender has identified the following areas for generative AI application:
- Modernizing its legacy technology stack;
- Generating code to boost software engineering productivity; and
- Chatbots.
Financial services companies should pick one or two areas of focus when testing and integrating generative AI to minimize costs, Kumar said, advising, “Don’t boil the ocean.”
While TFS is looking at applications for generative AI, the lender isn’t new to the technology. The lender in 2021 launched its machine learning, AI-powered Intelligent Financing Decision Engine for loan origination decisions and risk analysis. The solution improved TFS’ decisioning rate by more than 20%, speeding up the credit approval process for borrowers while enabling dealers to manage credit risk and adhere to compliance standards, according to the company.
More enterprises adopt AI
The role of generative AI in financing is expanding as lenders seek ways to reduce risk and streamline operations, Kumar said.
Tech consultancy Gartner predicts that by 2026, 80% of enterprises will have integrated AI into their businesses, compared with less than 5% in 2023, Kumar said.
Financial services enterprises in particular should embrace generative AI, John Pizzi, head of innovation and strategic partnerships at financial services firm Fidelity Information Services, said during the panel.
For example, lenders can use AI to sift through legal documents and find all contracts that expire at a given time.
Generative AI “is going to change your industry, not in 12 months, but definitely in 36 months and certainly in five years,” Pizzi said.
Register here for Bank Automation Summit 2025, taking place March 3-4 in Nashville, Tenn. View the full event agenda here.
