Zions Bancorporation is looking to move beyond generative artificial intelligence (AI) as it develops a banking strategy centred on agentic AI, stronger data infrastructure and more proactive customer service.
Alongside its adoption of banking technology from nCino, the US banking group believes these developments could make operations more efficient and customer interactions more seamless, while keeping trust and human relationships central to its business.
The bank’s approach reflects a wider shift in financial services, as institutions look to turn AI experimentation into practical improvements across their operations. For Zions, the challenge is not simply introducing new tools, but ensuring employees have the skills, data and infrastructure needed to use them effectively.
Zions Bancorporation executive vice president and director of the Business Banking Loan Center Chantel Chase said, “I actually think we’re going to be much more nimble. I’m really excited about where the banking industry is going in the next five years. We’ll have a more seamless experience for our customers, and we’ll be able to be predictive and proactive versus today, where we’re very reactive.”
Neelan Suri, a Zions Bancorporation executive, outlined three priorities for the bank’s AI strategy. These include moving from generative AI towards agentic AI, identifying opportunities to improve internal operations and investing in the underlying data infrastructure required to support wider adoption.
Suri said, “One is switching from generative AI to more agentic AI and moving away from just generating content to actually having AI help do the work,” he said. “The second is looking internally at where AI can improve our operations, which translates into a better customer experience. And the third, AI is only as good as the data you give it, so a lot of infrastructural upgrades have to go in to enable all of this.”
The focus on automation does not mean the bank expects technology to replace the personal relationships that underpin financial services. Chase said trust and human judgement will remain important, with technology intended to give banking professionals more time to focus on customers rather than administrative work.
“The functions that could never be replaced by AI, it’s the human element,” she said. “Banking is built on trust and relationships, and technology isn’t going to replace that. We still need trusted advisors who are empowered to use tools that make them more efficient, so they can focus more on building relationships than writing the book.”
Preparing staff for the transition is another part of the bank’s plans. Suri said organisations need a shared understanding of what AI means for different parts of the business, as its applications can vary across operations, technology and human resources. Zions is working to upskill employees and give them tools to explore the technology.
“There’s a definition alignment required for what AI means to a company, and it may differ by area — operations versus technology versus HR,” Suri said. “We’re upskilling people and giving them tools to explore.”
Chase also highlighted transparency as an important factor in maintaining confidence as AI becomes more widely used. “If we can be transparent about how we’re using AI, that helps maintain trust,” she said. “We build confidence through experience. The more we work with these tools, the more confident we’ll be in the outcomes.”
The bank’s technology strategy also includes its decision to work with nCino rather than develop its own banking software. Suri said the decision reflected the bank’s focus on banking rather than software development, alongside the value of adopting a platform shaped by other financial institutions.
“Our primary business is banking, not software development,” he said. “Given all of the other banks that have adopted nCino and helped improve it over the last 10 years, it’s a much better proposition to build on what’s already been solved rather than reinventing the wheel ourselves. That was one big factor in why we chose to buy versus build.”
Looking further ahead, Suri expects banking to become increasingly embedded in customers’ lives as digital processes develop. “I see a future where banking is extremely frictionless, with digitisation, smart contracts, digital assets, and paperless banking. Banking is going to be embedded into the lives of our customers. We’ll probably know what the customer needs before they even realise it themselves.”
For Zions, delivering on that vision will depend on more than deploying AI tools or adopting platforms such as nCino. The bank’s emphasis on data quality, employee readiness and customer trust highlights the operational groundwork required to turn emerging technology into meaningful change.
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