Lloyds: AI to support every customer interaction by 2030

Lloyds Banking Group reported first-half 2026 results and unveiled its Accelerate 2030 strategy, saying AI will support every customer interaction by 2030 and the group is targeting more than £100m in value from generative and agentic AI.

The bank posted a 23% rise in profits to £4.2bn for the six months to June. Under Accelerate 2030 it aims to cut a further £2bn in costs over the next four years, on top of roughly £2bn saved in the previous four years.

Charlie Nunn described AI as central to the group’s plan to differentiate services, grow revenue and improve productivity. He said, “By 2030, we expect AI-powered tools will support every customer interaction and all of our colleagues.” Nunn added the group was “on course to deliver more than £100m of value from generative and agentic AI in 2026.”

AI tools are already being used beyond basic customer support. The Scottish Widows app includes an AI investment advice feature that Lloyds plans to add to its retail banking app to provide targeted advice and to help reach up to one million new smaller investors.

Lloyds said about half of its AI investment is focused on productivity, efficiency and risk management, with the remainder directed at driving revenue growth.

The bank is building staff capability through an AI Academy aiming for all 67,000 employees to be AI literate by the end of the year. Since January staff have completed about 400,000 AI training courses. Lloyds also plans roughly 300 agentic AI roles, to be filled by internal moves and external hires, including data and AI scientists, engineers, responsible AI specialists and AI product managers.

Lloyds cited its Financial Institutions Sentiment Survey for 2025, which found 59% of surveyed banks reported AI-driven productivity gains in the previous 12 months, up from 32% in 2024. A benchmarking report referenced by the group noted that about one in 50 hires at the largest banks now work in AI functions.

The bank said it will continue to expand in-house AI expertise through ongoing training and targeted recruitment and expects its market scale to support the delivery of the Accelerate 2030 targets.