Bank of America to Double AI Budget in 2027, Cites $800M Benefit From $400M Spend

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) plans to double its AI expense budget next year after about 140 deployed use cases generated $800 million in benefits against $400 million in costs, CEO Brian Moynihan said at a Barclays conference. Co-President Jim DeMare, speaking Wednesday at a BofA Securities conference, said AI is lifting coding productivity 15% to 20% across its 20,000 software developers, while the Erica virtual assistant has reduced internal help desk inquiries. The bank allocates roughly $4 billion annually to new technology initiatives. Headcount fell to 209,000 from about 213,000 at the start of the year, with an 8.5% attrition rate. Moynihan said the bank is managing hiring carefully rather than laying off workers. Chief Technology and Information Officer Hari Gopalkrishnan said employee-submitted AI ideas have more than doubled investment interest year over year, adding that expanded agent autonomy will proceed only once adequate guardrails are in place.