How Citi Is Using AI to Supercharge Client Experience

Jon Lofthouse from Citi explains how the bank is using AI in practical ways to improve client experience, especially in wealth management. Rather than treating AI as hype, Lofthouse frames it as a toolkit to get clients faster answers and help bankers work more effectively.

Citi starts with everyday touchpoints: chatbots, voice systems and digital self-service. Citi is upgrading chatbots so they can handle more routine questions in a natural, responsive way. At the same time, Lofthouse highlights better voice-to-text capabilities in Citi’s IVR platforms, so clients can speak in their own words, have that captured accurately and then routed or answered more intelligently. The aim is to reduce friction for clients while also tightening internal efficiency.

Lofthouse also stresses improving the quality of information delivered to clients. AI helps interpret what a client is asking, pull together relevant, timely data from across systems and present it in a way that supports real decisions, rather than forcing people to dig around for answers.

The focus then shifts to wealth management, where products and client needs are more complex. Citi offers a wide range of wealth solutions, which makes the advisor’s job demanding. To support them, the bank has rolled out internal AI tools to “unlock the power” of its wealth platform when bankers are speaking with clients, with AskWealth as the key example. This AI assistant helps advisors quickly see which capabilities and products fit a client’s situation, compressing the time from question to tailored answer. The vision is AI quietly powering better conversations and smoother digital interactions, while the human relationship stays at the centre.