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Salesforce Connected Financial Services Report (Second Edition) cover image featuring AI-powered digital engagement insights. The image highlights AI-driven customer interactions through Agentforce, showcasing real-time financial notifications and self-service automation. Designed for financial service professionals, the report explores trends in AI, digital banking, and customer loyalty based on insights from 9,500 global consumers

Salesforce Report Highlights AI Agents as Key to Competitive Advantage in Financial Services

In its latest Connected Financial Services Report, Salesforce underscores a transformative shift in the industry: AI-driven agents are poised to redefine digital engagement, customer service, and financial decision-making. With data drawn from 9,500 financial services consumers worldwide, the report outlines how artificial intelligence (AI) and self-service digital tools are emerging as critical differentiators in an increasingly competitive landscape.

The Growing Demand for Digital-First Experiences

One of the report’s key takeaways is the rising consumer expectation for seamless, AI-powered digital engagement. While competitive rates, fees, and pricing remain top factors in customer loyalty, digital self-service experiences have gained new importance. A significant 46% of consumers—rising to 55% among high earners—would stay with a financial institution even if rates increased, provided they received an excellent digital experience.

This signals an important shift in customer retention strategies, as financial institutions (FSIs) must go beyond traditional incentives to meet rising digital expectations. Customers increasingly prefer to resolve issues through digital channels rather than calling or visiting branches, emphasizing the urgency for FSIs to implement AI-driven automation and self-service tools.

AI Agents as a Competitive Differentiator

Despite advancements in digital banking, fewer than half of customers report to be fully satisfied with the service speed and effectiveness of their banks, insurers, and wealth management advisors. AI-driven agentic systems—which allow customers to engage with intelligent virtual assistants for inquiries, transactions, and financial guidance—could be the game changer.

Salesforce’s research highlights a growing comfort with AI in financial services:

  • 65% of customers now expect AI to speed up financial transactions, up from 46% in 2023.
  • 54% of consumers trust AI agents, though only 10% express complete trust, indicating a need for education and transparency in AI-driven customer interactions.
  • Half of consumers believe AI will impact their relationships with FSIs more than in any other industry.

As Eran Agrios, SVP & GM of Financial Services at Salesforce, puts it: “Agentic AI solutions like Agentforce will scale a limitless expert digital labor force for financial institutions. Imagine FSIs that provide a personal digital banker, advisor, or agent to every one of their customers 24/7 to answer questions like ‘Am I saving enough for retirement?’ or ‘Can I afford this trip?’ without waiting. That’s the scale that’s possible.”

Building Trust in the Age of AI

While the benefits of AI in financial services are clear, trust remains a major hurdle. 73% of customers say they want to know whether they are communicating with an AI agent or a human. Moreover, 84% of consumers would switch financial service providers if they felt their data was mishandled—a significant jump from 78% in 2023.

To address these concerns, financial institutions need to prioritize:

  1. Transparency: Clearly informing customers when they interact with AI agents.
  2. Human Oversight: Implementing human validation to verify AI-generated insights and recommendations.
  3. Security and Compliance: Ensuring AI-driven interactions meet strict regulatory and privacy standards.

Agrios emphasizes that AI adoption must be built on trust: “For humans and agents to work together, it’s critical for financial service institutions to implement with trust, transparency, and the highest levels of regulatory compliance as core to their strategy—not an afterthought.”

A Defining Moment for FSIs

Salesforce’s report makes it clear: AI-powered agents are no longer just a novelty—they are a necessity for financial institutions seeking to remain competitive. As FSIs navigate this shift, those that effectively leverage AI to deliver personalized, secure, and proactive customer experiences will lead the way.

With Agentforce and other AI innovations in the pipeline, the financial services industry stands at the cusp of a new digital era—one where AI doesn’t just assist humans but actively enhances financial decision-making, engagement, and trust.

For FSIs, the challenge is clear: AI is here to stay. The question is—how well will you leverage it?

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