M&T Bank deploys AI copilots to 15,000+ employees

M&T Bank scales AI across workforce

M&T Bank has deployed AI copilots to more than 15,000 employees across its operations, marking one of the more extensive enterprise AI rollouts among U.S. regional banks. The deployment covers customer service, software development, risk management, and internal operations, according to reporting by Fast Company and American Banker.

The bank uses AI to analyze call-center conversations, draft reports, generate code, identify customer needs, and flag portfolio risks. M&T is also exploring agentic AI applications in cybersecurity and fraud detection.

By September 2025, approximately 16,000 of M&T's roughly 22,000 employees were using Microsoft Copilot for tasks including drafting emails and reports and summarizing call-center conversations, American Banker reported.

Why it matters

M&T's deployment demonstrates how mid-tier financial institutions are moving AI from pilot programs to operational scale. The bank's approach—combining strict governance with broad access—offers a template for enterprises balancing productivity gains against data security and regulatory requirements. The six-minute time savings per call-center conversation and reduced manual review workload show measurable efficiency improvements that could reshape workforce allocation in banking.

From blocked access to enterprise rollout

M&T initially restricted employee access to public large language models over concerns that workers might enter sensitive company information into public-facing services, Chief Data Officer Andrew Foster told American Banker. After evaluating enterprise providers, the bank selected Microsoft Copilot and began with a pilot involving approximately 800 employees before expanding organization-wide.

Foster said using generative AI to summarize call-center conversations saves about six minutes per call. Software developers at the bank also use GitLab tools to generate code, though employees remain responsible for reviewing all AI-generated work.

M&T's 2026 Code of Business Conduct and Ethics requires employees to use only approved AI tools and prohibits entering confidential, proprietary, customer, employee, or regulated information into unapproved systems. Employees retain responsibility for the accuracy and appropriateness of AI-assisted work.

Technology foundation built over seven years

The AI deployment follows a technology overhaul that began in 2018. At that time, more than half of M&T's technology specialists were external workers. Today, the bank maintains an 80% in-house technology workforce with about 2,000 technologists working across more than 300 agile teams. The bank has hired more than 1,000 technology specialists during this transformation.

M&T has replaced dozens of older platforms, reducing technology outages by more than 80% since 2018 while increasing the number of system upgrades completed annually by 300%. Technology spending exceeded $1.2 billion in 2025, nearly three times its 2017 level. Annual technology releases increased from about 15,000 in 2018 to 65,000 in 2025, according to Michael Wisler, senior executive vice president for technology and operations, speaking to Forbes in August 2026.

Data governance enables AI deployment

Foster, who joined M&T in 2023, built a data-lineage program to track where information originates, how it is used, and how it moves between systems. The bank established a Data Academy focused on data governance and data skills, with around 2,000 employees participating.

M&T created an internal repository called Edison containing authoritative documents and information on bank policies. The bank uses data-lineage software from Solidatus and Monte Carlo to trace information as it passes through databases, applications, and business-intelligence systems. M&T also uses retrieval-augmented generation with internal, governed data, American Banker reported.

Three-pathway AI strategy

Wisler told Forbes that M&T is pursuing generative AI through three routes: general employee use, AI capabilities embedded in existing applications, and proprietary systems built around the bank's own data and processes. M&T operates more than 1,800 applications, many supplied by third-party vendors, and is identifying useful AI capabilities already embedded within those applications.

Early workforce use cases centered on drafting, summarization, call-center work, and software development. Newer applications include identifying customer needs and flagging portfolio risks, Fast Company reported.

Other large U.S. banks have pursued similar expansions. JPMorgan Chase launched its internal LLM Suite platform to more than 200,000 employees in 2024, with more than 65,000 employees in its Corporate and Investment Bank actively using the platform by 2025. Bank of America deployed a generative AI system called EricaAssist to more than 18,000 customer service employees, reducing average call times by nearly one minute.

These details were first reported by Fast Company and American Banker.