# American Express: AI strategy and technology vision

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/american-express/ai-strategy
Last updated: Oct 16, 2026

*Part of the [American Express AI strategy profile](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/american-express).*

## What is American Express's AI strategy and technology vision?

American Express presents AI as the next 'accelerant' for its closed-loop network, in CEO Stephen Squeri's March 25, 2026 shareholder letter, and bets on agentic commerce: on April 14, 2026 it named three priorities, embedding Amex payments in AI ecosystems through the ACE developer kit, making Membership assets such as Resy discoverable on AI platforms, and building proprietary AI experiences on its own channels. It has used AI in credit, risk and fraud for 15 to 16 years, PYMNTS reported from the Q2 2026 release, and in 2020 said 100% of its risk models were AI-powered. Inside the company the targets are speed: AI-assisted development tools for more than 11,000 engineers cut coding cycle time by over 30% (March 2026), with 30% to 40% the stated aim in July 2026, and a public-cloud data platform cut key marketing and fraud process times by 90%. Squeri said in July 2026 that agentic initiatives were not in the original 2026 spending plan and that AI is 'not even early innings yet, it's the preseason'; any workforce reduction would come through attrition. For business clients Amex is building agents internally on technology from Center (2025) and Hyper (2026). No AI budget figure and no chief AI officer are disclosed. ([American Express](https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/articles/financial-news/2026-chairman-s-letter-to-shareholders.html), [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets-data-api-proxy.ft.com/data/announce/full?dockey=600-202603250800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260324_BW120486-1), [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202604140800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260414_BW231355-1), [PYMNTS](https://pymnts.com/credit-cards/2026/cards-make-their-case-in-an-agentic-world), [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/09/21/50-less-fraud-how-amex-uses-ai-to-automate-8-billion-risk-decisions/), [Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/american-express-company-q2-2026-123000218.html), [Motley Fool (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-express-axp-q4-2025-152307902.html), [PYMNTS](https://pymnts.com/earnings/2026/american-express-turns-generation-z-loyalty-into-ai-advantage), [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/amex-reports-earnings-in-line-with-analyst-expectations), [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/payments/news/amex-plans-agentic-ai-tools-for-business-clients))

## What have American Express executives said about AI strategy, and when?

Dated statements on the record, newest last. Quotes are as published by the cited outlet.

| Date | Who | What they said | Where | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| September 2020 | Anjali Dewan, VP risk management | '100% of our models are AI-powered', across origination, limit assignment, customer management and fraud detection; AI in use since 2010 | TechFirst podcast, reported by Forbes | [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/09/21/50-less-fraud-how-amex-uses-ai-to-automate-8-billion-risk-decisions/) |
| May 9, 2025 | Ravi Radhakrishnan, CIO | AI used for credit and fraud for over 15 years; a cross-functional AI council and an enablement layer over multiple models; watching agentic AI, smaller domain-specific models and AI with quantum computing | Forbes interview | [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterhigh/2025/05/09/ravi-radhakrishnan-on-driving-ai-innovation-at-american-express/) |
| March 25, 2026 | Stephen Squeri, CEO | 'We are embarking on an era in which AI-powered agents can discover products and services, make decisions, and complete transactions'; AI framed as an accelerant like e-commerce and mobile | Letter to shareholders | [American Express](https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/articles/financial-news/2026-chairman-s-letter-to-shareholders.html), [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets-data-api-proxy.ft.com/data/announce/full?dockey=600-202603250800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260324_BW120486-1), [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/payments/news/amex-adds-new-card-ai-tools-for-businesses) |
| March 25, 2026 | Raymond Joabar, group president, Global Commercial Services | 'AI will be a big part of how we develop new payment and spend management'; American Banker reports an Insights Agent and an expense app planned for corporate clients | American Banker | [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/payments/news/amex-adds-new-card-ai-tools-for-businesses) |
| April 23, 2026 | Stephen Squeri | 'In the agentic world, data is king'; about a 30% benefit for programmers in coding and testing | Q1 2026 earnings call | [The Motley Fool](https://fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/04/23/amex-axp-q1-2026-earnings-call-transcript), [Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/american-express-company-q1-2026-164752186.html) |
| July 24, 2026 | Stephen Squeri | 'We have a large backlog of tech products, with AI we are getting to more things quicker'; workforce reduction, if any, through attrition | Q2 2026 earnings call | [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/amex-reports-earnings-in-line-with-analyst-expectations), [Payments Dive](https://paymentsdive.com/news/amex-ups-marketing-tech-spend/826146) |
| July 24, 2026 | Stephen Squeri | Agentic commerce is in 'the preseason'; technology investment now includes agentic initiatives not contemplated in the original 2026 spending plan | Q2 2026 earnings call, reported by PYMNTS | [PYMNTS](https://pymnts.com/earnings/2026/american-express-turns-generation-z-loyalty-into-ai-advantage), [Investing.com](https://investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-american-express-beats-q2-2026-eps-shares-fall-93CH-4812024) |
| September 30, 2026 | Raymond Joabar | With agentic AI used internally to shorten development cycles, 'what used to take quarters now takes days or weeks' | American Banker | [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/payments/news/amex-plans-agentic-ai-tools-for-business-clients) |

## What are the parts of American Express's AI strategy?

Grouped by where the AI goes. Status as the company or the cited outlet describes it.

| Pillar | What it includes | Status | Since | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Agentic commerce on the network | ACE developer kit with agent registration, intent intelligence and tokenized credentials; Amex Agent Purchase Protection; Intent Intelligence framework | Launched; protection described as a future commitment | April 14, 2026; October 13, 2026 | [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202604140800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260414_BW231355-1), [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202610130930BIZWIRE_USPRX____20261013_BW636634-1) |
| Membership assets on AI platforms | Resy restaurants discoverable in Anthropic's Claude; Amex Offers and Amex Travel named as later candidates | In production (Resy) | April 2026 | [American Express](https://americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/articles/travel-and-dining/american-express-partners-with-anthropic-to-make-u-s--resy-resta.html), [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202604140800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260414_BW231355-1) |
| Risk, credit and fraud models | AI across the credit life cycle and fraud since the 2010s; now applying it to how unstructured data feeds those decisions | In production | 2010 (AI); 2014 (large-scale fraud ML) | [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/09/21/50-less-fraud-how-amex-uses-ai-to-automate-8-billion-risk-decisions/), [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2020/09/06/how-american-express-uses-ai-to-enhance-security-interview-with-rajat-jain-global-head-for-identity-and-authentication-strategy-at-american-express/), [PYMNTS](https://pymnts.com/credit-cards/2026/cards-make-their-case-in-an-agentic-world) |
| Engineering productivity | AI-assisted development tools for more than 11,000 engineers; agentic coding tools being scaled | Rolling out | 2025-2026 | [American Express](https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/articles/financial-news/2026-chairman-s-letter-to-shareholders.html), [Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/american-express-company-q2-2026-123000218.html) |
| Data platform | Third-generation data and analytics platform on the public cloud; all data and analytics processes to migrate by 2027 | Rolling out | Q4 2025 call | [Motley Fool (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-express-axp-q4-2025-152307902.html) |
| Commercial clients | Expense and insights agents, AI-powered accounts payable and AI-powered payroll insights, built internally on Center and Hyper technology | Announced for fall 2026 and early 2027 | 2025-2026 | [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/payments/news/amex-plans-agentic-ai-tools-for-business-clients), [American Express (Business Wire via Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/american-express-delivers-next-generation-110000142.html), [American Express Investor Relations](https://ir.americanexpress.com/news/investor-relations-news/investor-relations-news-details/2025/American-Express-Completes-Acquisition-of-Center/default.aspx), [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets-data-api-proxy.ft.com/data/announce/full?dockey=600-202604160915BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260415_BW433431-1) |
| Servicing | AI-powered servicing chatbot, AI search in the app (about one million inquiries a month) and a pilot of conversational agents for voice response | In production and pilot | 2026 | [American Express](https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/articles/financial-news/2026-chairman-s-letter-to-shareholders.html) |

## What does American Express not disclose about its AI strategy?

Amex does not publish an AI budget or a technology budget figure. In July 2026 it said it would increase marketing and technology spending in the second half, but Payments Dive noted the company did not say by how much it would increase technology spend. ([Payments Dive](https://paymentsdive.com/news/amex-ups-marketing-tech-spend/826146))

No chief AI officer is named; AI responsibility sits with CIO Ravi Radhakrishnan, CTO Hilary Packer, Chief Data Officer Chris Gifford and Luke Gebb's Amex Digital Labs. The foundation-model and cloud suppliers behind the enablement layer are not named either; model companies appear on the record as distribution partners (Anthropic for Resy) or as a card benefit (a ChatGPT Business credit), not as named suppliers. ([Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterhigh/2025/05/09/ravi-radhakrishnan-on-driving-ai-innovation-at-american-express/), [VentureBeat](https://venturebeat.com/ai/how-amex-uses-ai-to-increase-efficiency-40-fewer-it-escalations-85-travel-assistance-boost), [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterhigh/2026/01/07/amex-digital-labs-is-scaling-innovation-from-experiment-to-enterprise/), [American Express](https://americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/articles/travel-and-dining/american-express-partners-with-anthropic-to-make-u-s--resy-resta.html), [American Express](https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/how-to-get-more-done-with-chatgpt-business-a-new-benefit-for-american-express-business-platinum-card-and-business-gold-card-members))

The figures Amex gives for AI results (90% faster marketing and fraud processes, coding cycle time down 30% or more, more than doubled immediate dispute resolutions) are its own and unaudited. The 2025 10-K, meanwhile, lists agentic-commerce disintermediation and flawed, biased or hallucinatory AI outputs among its risks. ([Motley Fool (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-express-axp-q4-2025-152307902.html), [American Express](https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/articles/financial-news/2026-chairman-s-letter-to-shareholders.html), [Payments Dive](https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/amexs-low-fraud-rate-turns-on-its-closed-system/828716/), [American Express (SEC filings)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/4962/000000496226000080/axp-20251231.htm))

## What does the Amex profile record on this topic?

| Date | Move | Detail | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Aug 25, 2026 | AI dispute pilot doubles instant resolutions | An AI pilot surfaces similar historical transactions to service reps; immediately resolved dispute cases more than doubled. | [Payments Dive](https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/amexs-low-fraud-rate-turns-on-its-closed-system/828716/) |
| Jul 24, 2026 | Q2 call: closed loop and intent as the answer to agentic fraud | Squeri says agentic commerce is fraught with fraud and hallucinations and that knowing what the cardholder wanted and what the merchant delivered gives Amex an advantage; agentic initiatives were not in the year's original spending plan. | [Investing.com](https://investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-american-express-beats-q2-2026-eps-shares-fall-93CH-4812024) |
| Jul 24, 2026 | Q2 10-Q lists agentic commerce among strategic dependencies | The filing ties results partly to the ACE kit, Agent Purchase Protection, making Membership assets discoverable on AI platforms and embedding AI into internal processes; it also cites AI usage costs. | [American Express (SEC filings)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/4962/000000496226000322/axp-20260630.htm) |
| Jul 24, 2026 | Q2 call: AI clears the tech backlog; attrition, not cuts | Squeri on speed gains internally and externally. | [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/amex-reports-earnings-in-line-with-analyst-expectations) |
| Apr 23, 2026 | Q1 call: 'data is king' in the agentic world | Squeri reports a 30% benefit for programmers, says the ACE kit requires an agent to declare intent so it can be matched with the purchase, and flags coming announcements with leading AI companies. | [The Motley Fool](https://fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/04/23/amex-axp-q1-2026-earnings-call-transcript) |
| Apr 23, 2026 | Q1 call: 'a new era of commerce' | Agentic and generative AI emphasised; more marketing and technology spend planned. | [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/amex-earnings-beat-wall-street-estimates), [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-23/amex-tops-estimates-as-premium-card-spending-stays-strong) |
| Apr 14, 2026 | ACE developer kit and Agent Purchase Protection | Integrate Amex payments in agentic experiences; protection for purchases by registered AI agents. | [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202604140800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260414_BW231355-1), [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/amex-introduces-agentic-commerce-developers-kit) |
| Mar 25, 2026 | Letter details internal AI deployment | AI-assisted development tools reach more than 11,000 engineers (coding cycle time down over 30%); the company plans to pilot conversational AI agents for its legacy voice response systems and is piloting AI to classify fraud claims. | [American Express](https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/articles/financial-news/2026-chairman-s-letter-to-shareholders.html) |
| Mar 25, 2026 | Shareholder letter: AI as accelerant | Squeri makes the case for the company's AI efforts after a stock-drop report; Graphite Business Cash card launches with agentic search and checkout. | [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-25/amex-makes-case-for-its-ai-efforts-in-wake-of-stock-drop-turmoil), [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets-data-api-proxy.ft.com/data/announce/full?dockey=600-202603250800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260324_BW120486-1), [American Express via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202603250715BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260324_BW485642-1) |
| Feb 6, 2026 | 10-K: agentic commerce as a competitive and model risk | Autonomous AI agents transacting for users could disintermediate customer relationships; AI flaws, bias and hallucinations listed among the risks. | [American Express (SEC filings)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/4962/000000496226000080/axp-20251231.htm) |
| Jan 30, 2026 | Q4 2025 call: a cloud data platform and GenAI tools for nearly all colleagues | The third-generation data and analytics platform already cuts key marketing and fraud process times by 90%, with all data and analytics processes to migrate by 2027; Dining Companion launched and agent-commerce standards developed with partners. | [Motley Fool (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-express-axp-q4-2025-152307902.html), [American Express (SEC filings)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/4962/000000496226000037/q425exhibit991.htm) |
| Jan 20, 2026 | LLM risk-mitigation patent granted | US 12,530,174 B2, filed October 2023 by American Express Travel Related Services Company, covers generating risk-mitigation code for applications that call a network LLM service. | [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US12530174B2/en) |

## Common questions

### What did Stephen Squeri say about AI in the 2026 shareholder letter?

In the letter released March 25, 2026, Squeri said the company is 'embarking on an era in which AI-powered agents can discover products and services, make decisions, and complete transactions' for consumers and businesses, and framed AI as an accelerant for the franchise, as e-commerce and mobile payments had been. The letter also reported AI-assisted development tools for more than 11,000 engineers.

### How long has American Express used AI?

Amex says AI is not new to it. A risk executive told Forbes in 2020 that the company started using AI in 2010 and that 100% of its risk models were AI-powered; its newsroom dates the first large-scale fraud machine-learning model to 2014; and PYMNTS reported from the Q2 2026 release that Amex has used AI in credit, risk and fraud for 15 to 16 years.

### Is American Express spending more on technology because of AI?

Yes, but without a number. On the July 24, 2026 call Squeri said technology investment now includes agentic commerce initiatives that were not contemplated in the original 2026 plan, and the company said it would raise marketing and technology spending in the second half. Payments Dive noted it did not say by how much technology spend would rise.

### Will AI cut jobs at American Express?

Squeri's stated position, on the July 24, 2026 call, is that AI lets the company work through a large backlog of technology products faster and that any reduction in the workforce would come later through attrition rather than cuts. He called the moment 'not even early innings yet, it's the preseason'.

### How is American Express building AI for business customers?

Internally, according to American Banker in September 2026: its agentic AI for commercial clients uses technology from Hyper, the AI expense company it agreed to buy in April 2026, and Center, the expense-management software company it bought in April 2025. Planned products include an expense agent, an insights agent, AI accounts payable workflows and AI-powered payroll insights in early 2027.
## Deeper on Amex

- [What AI patents, partnerships and investments does American Express have?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/american-express/ai-research-patents-partnerships)
- [How does American Express use AI for fraud detection and credit decisions?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/american-express/fraud-and-credit-ai)
- [How is American Express preparing its payments network for AI agents?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/american-express/payments-ai)


---

Canonical page: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/american-express/ai-strategy
Part of [BankingNewsAI](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/) — a free daily brief on AI in banking, an AI regulation tracker (42 authorities, 243 documents) and AI-strategy profiles of the 120 largest US banks. Markdown versions of every reference page: append `.md` to the page URL; index at https://www.bankingnewsai.com/llms.txt.