The findings: Approximately half of financial institutions (FIs) say their employees are at least moderately fluent in AI according to their own measurements. But there’s a wide gap between the fluency of big banks and that of credit unions, per American Banker. The breakdown of banks that claim to be moderately or highly fluent is as follows:

• National banks: 73% 
• Community banks: 61%
• Midsize banks: 57%
• Credit unions: 57% (though they have the highest proportion of low AI literacy, at 43%).

At the same time, 27% of FIs have no metrics with which to measure their AI literacy.

Why this matters: FIs can offer the most cutting-edge AI-powered tools and have the most technologically advanced tools for employees. But if the talent doesn’t know how to leverage those tools, the investment risks underdelivering.

With some FIs investing billions of dollars in AI, those without the talent to leverage it risk wasting that money while falling behind their competitors.

Recommendations: As AI increasingly shapes how consumers discover and evaluate financial products, FIs can no longer separate internal AI capabilities from external market performance. EMARKETER’s “AI Visibility Index” shows that brands with strong, clear positioning are dominating AI-driven recommendations. Still, American Banker’s research highlights that many FIs still lack workforce fluency.

FIs should focus on building practical AI fluency across the workforce by implementing structured, role-based training that teaches employees to use AI tools in their day-to-day work rather than relying on informal learning. 

This means starting with foundational education on what AI can do, then layering in hands-on training tied to specific functions (e.g., marketing, risk, customer service) along with clear guidance on effective prompting and output evaluation.

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