Itaú plans 100% client access to AI tool by year-end

Itaú Unibanco plans to expand access to its conversational artificial intelligence tool to 100% of its customer base by the end of the year. The platform, named IAI, currently has 3 million users and lets customers interact with the bank without navigating traditional menus, CEO Milton Maluhy said on CNN Cast.

The rollout follows investments over the last two years in building a technological foundation called "Inteligência Itaú". Maluhy noted that the bank has already deployed Pix transfers via WhatsApp, a generative AI digital banking platform for small businesses, and an investment advisor based entirely on artificial intelligence. The lender created governance mechanisms and safeguards to ensure data protection and model training.

Maluhy stated that the bank can fully quantify the benefits generated by AI, pointing to team productivity, customer satisfaction, usage frequency, and the accuracy of credit models. He described the adoption of AI as an irreversible change in how the institution operates, emphasizing the need to transform existing business models before competitors do.

The executive added that the institution aims to move toward individual treatment for each client rather than broad scale hyper-personalization, making credit decisions faster and more precise while maintaining risk management and capital allocation discipline.