Card network American Express is seeing results as it cautiously deploys gen AI. 

“We’ve been investing in AI and machine learning at American Express for years, using it to power everything from fraud detection to credit risk management,” Gary Kensey, executive vice president and unit CIO of global servicing and corporate technology, told FinAi News. “Our gen AI journey, which we’ve been on since 2023, builds on that foundation.”

The New York-based company is employing gen AI for dozens of use cases focused on productivity, protection and growth, Kensey said. Gen AI allows AmEx employees to be more productive so they can focus on more value-added work, protecting its systems and data against sophisticated attacks and enhancing customer experiences. 

He said that some of the most significant gen AI use cases so far include: 

• Search optimization: About 12.8 million U.S. customers have access to gen AI-enabled search optimization in the mobile app, which handles about 1 million searches per month and routes customers to the right answers about 26% more effectively. 

• Travel counselor assist: Scaled to all 5,000 travel consultants across 19 markets, serving Platinum and Centurion card members, the tool has reduced average customer handling time by about 2 minutes in the United States while 88% of travel consultants globally report higher satisfaction with their work. Looking ahead, American Express plans to use gen AI to recommend personalized itineraries based on card holder preferences and data on where similar customers have stayed. 

• AI coding assistant: The AI was rolled out to about 9,100 engineers, helping them write and refine code more efficiently. The company has seen roughly a 10% boost in productivity, with satisfaction levels around 85%, freeing up time for engineers to focus on higher-value development. 

• Internal chatbot: AmEx has seen a 40% increase in the ability to resolve colleague queries without the need to transfer them to an engineer, which means colleagues get faster help. 

Future and sustainable development 

On the heels of increased gen AI-driven efficiency, AmEx plans to develop agentic AI tools to make employees more efficient and grow operations, Kensey said. 

“Agentic AI is very promising, especially in areas where it can provide value to customers without compromising trust,” Kensey said. “For us, lifestyle scenarios like travel and dining would be the most natural fit, such as an AI agent that can find deals, book reservations or automatically apply card benefits.” 

AmEx aims to use agentic AI to shape the company’s fraud, dispute and standards infrastructure, along with piloting gen AI-driven tools to detect fraud in voice channels, Kensey said.

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