NatWest embeds AI across its banking strategy

NatWest Group is making AI a central part of its business strategy rather than treating it as a separate technology layer. The bank invested £1.2bn last year in AI, data and technology transformation, aiming to improve customer service, strengthen safer banking, generate sharper insights and help colleagues build more trusted customer relationships.

AI tools are now available to every one of NatWest’s 60,000 colleagues, supported by ongoing training. To date, 271,000 AI learning modules have been completed, with over 60% of colleagues taking part in elective learning. The bank said 1,200 Commercial Mid-Market colleagues saved 22,000 hours through AI-enabled meeting preparation, while over 12,000 engineers and coders used AI to write more than 40% of the bank’s code in 2025.

Customer-facing work includes the Cora Digital Assistant using GenAI for more intuitive conversations and trials of agentic AI for personalised spending insights. NatWest is also emphasizing governance, with an AI Steering Committee, a Chief AI Research Office, responsible AI accreditation, an AI and Data Ethics Code of Conduct and live AI testing with the Financial Conduct Authority.