Citigroup is taking a phased approach to maximize AI advancements while eyeing agentic AI’s long-term potential.  

The $2.8 trillion bank is “methodically deploying AI at scale across the firm to drive revenues and process improvements, enhance client experiences and strengthen our defensive capabilities,” Chief Executive Jane Fraser said during today’s first-quarter earnings call.  

Citigroup is pleased with its data-architecture investments, aggregating institutional and consumer data into single repositories, which are “enormously beneficial in the world of AI that we’re living in,” Fraser said. 

The bank’s Q1 AI highlights, according to its earnings presentation, include: 

• More than 80% of employees adopted the bank’s proprietary AI tools, up from roughly 70% in Q4 2025;
• AI processes more than 4,400 documents per month, saving employees more than 1,700 hours per month in areas such as trade confirmations, broker invoices and interest claims investigations; and
• More than 10,000 engineers have adopted “advanced AI” tools, such as agentic AI, remapping 30-plus years of legacy code in two days in one use case.  

Citigroup has also completed 90% of its multiyear transformation project, which aims to simplify operations by reducing management layers, overhauling its technology stack, reducing headcount and shifting its focus toward corporate finance and wealth management clients, according to the company. 

The bank is now seeing less expense tied to the transformation project, creating “capacity for investments in AI,” Fraser said. 

By the numbers 

New York-based Citigroup reported in Q1:

• Revenue increased 14.1% year over year to $24.6 billion;
• Technology and communication expenses fell 1.8% YoY to $2.3 billion;
• Efficiency ratio landed at 58.1%, compared with 62.2% in Q1 2025; and
• Headcount totaled 224,000, down from 226,000 in Q4 2025. 

The lower headcount reflects AI’s ability to “turbocharge” investments in tech-driven automation, Chief Financial Officer Gonzalo Luchetti said during the earnings call. 

Citigroup’s Q1 results come on the heels of several newly launched AI tools for its wealth management business, according to an April 9 company release. Those tools include data-driven insights for advisers to strengthen client relationships and customer-facing solutions for more personalized portfolio insights.  

Register here for the FinAi Lending Summit, set for Oct. 7-8 in Las Vegas.