BMO Financial Group put AI at the center of its second fiscal quarter story, disclosing revenue and productivity gains as the bank pushes AI deeper into client-facing and back-office work.  

The $1.2 trillion bank drove roughly CA$85 million ($61.5 million) in annualized revenue in its fiscal 2025 through AI-powered personalized client offerings in its Canadian Personal and Business Banking unit, according to the company’s second-quarter earnings presentation on May 27.  

It is the first time BMO has made public the impact of AI on its bottom line.

“We’re driving innovation for business value through digital-first, AI-powered solutions and actively advancing new use cases focused on relationship-led intelligence, applying AI insights to proactively identify and solve client needs,” Chief Executive Darryl White said during the earnings call. 

BMO said it is focusing its AI work on three priorities:  

• Personalizing client experiences;  

• Augmenting employee productivity; and  

• Automating routine tasks. 

AI wins 

The bank said it was first to market in Canada with an underwriting AI assistant, RovrAI, which is now available to 100% of advisers and credited with resolving more than 10,000 queries. 

The Montreal-based bank’s frontline chatbot, Lumi, helps customer representatives navigate more than 8,000 policies and has cut helpdesk call volumes by about 60%, according to its earnings reports. 

The bank also has scaled AI tools to more than 2,000 software developers, reporting a 20% to 30% productivity improvement, according to the earnings presentation. 

BMO said it is automating key steps in transaction resolution, with an expected 50% reduction in run rate costs and has implemented automated portfolio monitoring that has trimmed annual client review cycle times by roughly 15%. 

BY THE NUMBERS: In its fiscal Q2, which ended April 30, BMO reported: 

• Adjusted net income of $1.9 billion, up 34% YoY; 

• Efficiency ratio of 55.7%, down 210 basis points; and 

• Expenses of $3.8 billion, up 6% YoY. 

AI and Quantum in focus 

The quarter also saw the bank establish the BMO Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence and Quantum, which it calls responsible AI and quantum development. 

Quantum computing is drawing significant policy and capital attention. This month, the Trump administration awarded $2 billion to nine U.S. quantum computing companies under the CHIPS and Science Act, with IBM set to receive $1 billion to build a foundry for producing quantum computing chips, according to a May 21 White House release. 

Financial services is one of the first sectors expected to feel the effect of quantum.  

According to data analytics company DataM Intelligence’s Dec. 29, 2025, report, the market for quantum computing in financial services will grow to $6.3 billion by 2032 from $300 million in 2024, a 46.5% compound annual growth rate. 

FIs including BNP, JPMorgan and HSBC, are already running quantum computing pilots to improve data security, according to prior FinAi News reporting. 

Editor’s Note: All figures have been converted to U.S. dollars. 

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