# BMO (U.S.): AI strategy

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/bmo-us
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026

*96% employee adoption, a chief AI and quantum officer, an institute, and a stated refusal to use AI as a layoff tool — with underwriting agents as the proof.*

## How is BMO using AI?

BMO's AI program is run from group level in Toronto and lands squarely in the US bank, which is the group's growth priority: AI adoption above 96% of employees, intelligent agents supporting front-line and operations teams, and a 2026 target to cut commercial underwriting time in half by 2028 with Aura, its first credit agent. The organisational choice is distinctive — a chief AI and quantum officer, Kristin Milchanowski, who founded an Institute for Applied AI & Quantum in April 2026, hosts a podcast on 'return on intelligence' and holds a provisional patent on a quantum algorithm — and so is the labour stance: she calls AI-related layoffs 'lazy' and says BMO will grow while keeping headcount level. Together with a Codat-powered machine-learning engine that recommends what to sell business clients, an Anthropic-built financial-crimes agent that BMO is among the first to develop with FIS, and a bank-anchored tokenised-cash platform, it is one of the more fully described AI operating models among the regionals.

## At a glance

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Lead bank | BMO Bank, N.A. (BMO Financial Corp.) |
| Ticker | BMO |
| Headquarters | Chicago, IL (BMO Financial Group: Toronto) |
| Consolidated assets | $254,973 million |
| Federal Reserve rank | 16 |
| Charter | National bank (OCC) |

## What AI partnerships and patents does BMO U.S. have?

BMO's public AI record is group level. Named relationships are Microsoft Copilot as an approved tool, AWS with FICO for credit decisioning, Google Cloud for tokenised cash, FIS with Anthropic for an AML agent still in development, Codat for product recommendations, and the Chicago Quantum Exchange and IBM Quantum Network for quantum work. Patents assigned to Bank of Montreal include one granted machine-learning patent and three published AI applications since February 2025. Contract values, GPU suppliers and a US-specific model vendor are not public. ([Bank of Montreal (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000119312526105793/d76162dex991.htm), [Business Wire via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202605041800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260504_BW126906-1), [Amazon Web Services](https://aws.amazon.com/cn/partners/success/bmo-fico/), [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US12236505B2/en), [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20250252310A1/en), [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20250335967A1/en), [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20260119566A1/en))

| Item | What it is | Status | Date | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Microsoft Copilot | Approved generative-AI tools (Copilot and Copilot Chat) under the AI Risk Directive | In production | 2026-03-13 | [Bank of Montreal (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000119312526105793/d76162dex991.htm) |
| FIS and Anthropic | Financial Crimes AI Agent; BMO and Amalgamated Bank in development, general availability planned H2 2026 | In development | 2026-05-04 | [Business Wire via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202605041800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260504_BW126906-1) |
| Codat | Payments and payables data feed a machine-learning product recommender for business bankers | In production | 2026-05-04 | [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/how-bmo-uses-ai-to-get-more-of-business-clients-business) |
| AWS and FICO | Credit decisioning moved to the FICO Platform on AWS; AWS also runs training programmes for BMO staff (page undated, retrieved 2026-10-13) | In production | Undated | [Amazon Web Services](https://aws.amazon.com/cn/partners/success/bmo-fico/), [Amazon Web Services](https://aws.amazon.com/enterprise/execleaders/customer-success-stories/bank-of-montreal/) |
| Google Cloud and CME Group | Tokenised cash and deposit platform on Google Cloud Universal Ledger (payments, not AI) | Announced | 2026-03-24 | [The Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/finance/banking/bank-of-montreal-plans-tokenized-cash-platform-0ee00c73) |
| FINOS | Joint effort on vendor-neutral AI controls with AWS, Microsoft and Google Cloud | Active | 2025-06-24 | [Banking Dive](https://www.bankingdive.com/news/banks-cloud-providers-ai-governance-standards-finos-citi-morgan-stanley-rbc-bmo/751698/) |
| IBM Quantum Network | First Canadian bank with access, per the CEO | Active | 2025-12-04 | [Investing.com](https://investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-bank-of-montreal-q4-2025-earnings-beat-expectations-93CH-4391363) |
| Chicago Quantum Exchange | Research, workforce and commercialisation partnership with a US consortium | Active | 2026-04-13 | [BMO](https://bmo.com/en-us/main/about-bmo/news-insights/blog/innovation-with-impact) |
| Vector Institute | Platinum industry partner since 2017; five-year renewal (Canada) | Active | 2026-05-28 | [BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-05-28-BMO-Renews-Five-Year-Partnership-with-Vector-Institute-to-Advance-Responsible-AI) |
| Radical Breakouts Fund | BMO investment in a venture strategy for late-stage AI companies (Canada) | Invested | 2026-09-15 | [BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-09-15-BMO-Invests-in-Radical-Ventures-Breakouts-Fund-to-Help-Scale-Next-Generation-of-AI-Talent-and-Drive-Economic-Growth) |
| US 12,236,505 B2 | Flood hazard estimation using a GAN-trained machine-learning model and satellite elevation data | Granted | 2025-02-25 | [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US12236505B2/en) |
| US 2025/0252310 A1 | Deep-learning-based system and process for image recognition | Published application | 2025-08-07 | [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20250252310A1/en) |
| US 2025/0335967 A1 | Artificial-intelligence modelling to predict negative cash flow in electronic accounts | Published application | 2025-10-30 | [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20250335967A1/en) |
| US 2026/0119566 A1 | Machine-learning database search and knowledge mining over query logs | Published application | 2026-04-30 | [Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20260119566A1/en) |
| Quantum algorithm for earthquake prediction | Provisional patent filed by the chief AI and quantum officer, as reported | Filed | 2026-05-01 | [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-01/bmo-turns-to-ai-and-quantum-computing-to-predict-earthquakes) |

## Flagship platform: Lumi, Aura and the Institute for Applied AI & Quantum

Lumi Assistant gives Team BMO instant access to more than 8,000 policies and procedures in English and French; Aura, launched in 2026, is the first agent in a program to make commercial underwriting 50% faster by 2028, drafting credit-assessment commentary that underwriters review. Both sit under the BMO Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence & Quantum, created in April 2026 as an enterprise centre of excellence under chief AI and quantum officer Kristin Milchanowski. ([BMO](https://www.bmo.com/en-ca/main/about-bmo/news-insights/blog/meet-lumi-assistant-bmos-award-winning-ai-tool-empowering-team-bmo), [BMO AI Hub](https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/aura-helping-power-bmos-goal-of-50-faster-underwriting-by-2028), [BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-04-09-BMO-Establishes-Institute-for-Applied-Artificial-Intelligence-Quantum))

## Key points

- Evident AI Index 2026: BMO is in the top 20 banks globally for AI and ranks #2 of 50 for reported AI use-case outcomes; in 2025 it tied for #1 in AI talent development.
- April 2026: BMO Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence & Quantum, an enterprise-wide centre of excellence; Kristin Milchanowski appointed Chief AI & Quantum Officer and founding director.
- Aura (2026): a generative agent that drafts commercial credit-assessment commentary for underwriters — the first step toward 50% faster underwriting by 2028; underwriters remain accountable for the decision.
- Lumi Assistant (2025): an award-winning employee assistant over 8,000-plus Canadian P&BB policies and procedures, bilingual.
- Partnerships: Codat machine learning to recommend next products for business clients (May 2026); named by FIS among the first institutions developing its Anthropic-built financial-crimes agent (May 2026; group level, US scope not stated); tokenised cash on Google Cloud Universal Ledger with CME (March 2026).
- Labour stance: 'It's lazy' — Milchanowski on AI-related layoffs; BMO says it can grow while keeping headcount level.
- Investor Day, March 26, 2026, U.S. Banking section: the AIM lead engine has produced 18,000+ tailored commercial leads and offers since its May 2025 launch, the Nova and Lexi chat bots give frontline staff self-serve access to 1,000+ policy documents, and ARM and Aura support risk monitoring and annual reviews.
- Group-wide, 2,000+ software developers use AI with a 20-30% productivity target, AI tools reached the whole workforce with about 10 million prompts, and BMO sees line of sight to more than $1 billion of pre-provision pre-tax profit from AI by fiscal 2030.
- Q3 fiscal 2026 (August 25, 2026): U.S. Banking net income rose 9% year on year with ROE of 9.8% and ROTCE of 17.3%; expenses grew 3%, 'largely funded by efficiency improvements', and Aron Levine said BMO is investing in talent and technology.
- U.S. technology and AI leadership: Brent Reston is chief digital officer for U.S. Banking (started August 17, 2026, reports to Aron Levine); Tony Sciarrino heads the U.S. commercial bank; Darrel Hackett is CEO of BMO Financial Corp.
- Patents assigned to Bank of Montreal include a granted machine-learning flood-hazard patent (US 12,236,505 B2, February 25, 2025) and published applications on neural-network cash-flow prediction (October 30, 2025), deep-learning image recognition (August 7, 2025) and machine-learning database search (April 30, 2026).
- Infrastructure ties named in public sources: Microsoft Copilot as an approved tool, AWS with FICO for credit decisioning, Google Cloud for tokenised cash, the FIS and Anthropic agent in development, and the Chicago Quantum Exchange; no AI contract values are public.

## Timeline

- Oct 6, 2026 — **Evident AI Index 2026: top 20 overall, #2 for AI outcomes** Highest available scores for Responsible AI principles and governance; #2 of 50 banks for reported use-case outcomes. ([BMO (CNW via FT Markets)](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/full?dockey=600-202610060700CANADANWCANADAPR_C6630-1))
- Sep 22, 2026 — **C$1 billion a year from AI by 2030** CFO reiterates the pre-provision, pre-tax income target for AI initiatives; benefits weighted to efficiency for now. ([MarketBeat (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/bmo-sees-loan-demand-surge-020206941.html))
- Aug 28, 2026 — **Levine on clients' AI integration** Bloomberg: BMO U.S. President Aron Levine says clients are working through many scenarios for integrating AI, with growth across sectors beyond it. ([Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2026-08-28/bmo-us-president-see-growth-beyond-ai-plane-video))
- Aug 27, 2026 — **Blend award for a direct loan-origination integration** Naming BMO among seven customers honoured at its Forum 2026, Blend said senior technology officer Hitesh Vyas and the BMO team co-built a direct, middleware-free integration between Blend and BMO's loan origination system. ([Business Wire via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202608271600BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260827_BW757201-1))
- Aug 25, 2026 — **Q3 call: U.S. Banking results with AI-funded efficiency** U.S. Banking net income up 9%, ROE 9.8%, ROTCE 17.3%; expenses up 3%, largely funded by efficiency gains; SmartDecision gives insurance decisions in as little as 10 seconds against an industry 28 business days or more. ([Motley Fool (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/bmo-bmo-q3-2026-earnings-174320317.html))
- Aug 25, 2026 — **Q3 2026 call: personalise, augment, automate** CEO says AI is 'already creating significant value'; Lumi raised new-employee productivity by 17% and is being extended to client conversations. ([Motley Fool (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/bmo-bmo-q3-2026-earnings-174320317.html))
- Aug 21, 2026 — **Brent Reston named chief digital officer for U.S. Banking** Inaugural chief digital officer for U.S. banking; started August 17, 2026 and reports to Aron Levine. ([American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/list/bmo-financial-names-brent-reston-chief-digital-officer))
- Aug 13, 2026 — **Sciarrino: measuring AI returns complicates client investment** On CNBC, the head of the U.S. commercial bank says CEOs remain optimistic on growth and M&A but tariffs and AI-return measurement weigh on spending. ([CNBC](https://cnbc.com/video/2026/08/13/tony-sciarrino-not-making-a-decision-is-a-decision.html))
- Aug 6, 2026 — **Aura: 50% faster underwriting by 2028** First agent in the commercial-credit transformation, with human review. ([BMO AI Hub](https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/aura-helping-power-bmos-goal-of-50-faster-underwriting-by-2028))
- Jul 9, 2026 — **Milchanowski on agent governance** Says every agent gets a performance evaluation that lives with it, because large language models degrade over time; humans take over when it slips. ([American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/leaders/how-bmos-chief-ai-officer-looks-at-getting-return-building-trust-in-ai))
- Jul 9, 2026 — **SmartDecision AI-enhanced insurance underwriting** Real-time decisions on life applications up to $5 million. ([CNW via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202607090730CANADANWCANADAPR_C9043-1))
- Jun 18, 2026 — **Global Finance names BMO best bank in North America and Western U.S.** Darryl White ties the award to integrating AI across the business; Darrel Hackett speaks for the Western U.S. award. ([BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-06-18-BMO-Named-Best-Bank-in-North-America,-Western-U-S-and-Transaction-Banking-in-North-America-by-Global-Finance))
- Jun 17, 2026 — **'It's lazy': AI layoffs rejected** BMO will grow while keeping headcount level, using AI. ([American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/its-lazy-bmos-milchanowski-on-ai-related-layoffs))
- May 27, 2026 — **Q2 2026 results: 'human- and AI-powered client experiences'** CEO ties the quarter to the AI strategy and the new institute. ([Bank of Montreal (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000092797126000088/q22026earningsrelease.htm))
- May 26, 2026 — **Digital Banker awards: SAFE AI platform and U.S. card suite** Seven awards, including SAFE (AI and machine learning for signer records in Canada and the U.S.) and the BMO Digital Card Control Suite for U.S. clients. ([BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-05-26-BMO-Wins-Seven-Awards-for-AI,-Digital-Innovation-and-Client-Experiences,1))
- May 4, 2026 — **Named by FIS among the first in development with its Anthropic-built AML agent** FIS says BMO and Amalgamated Bank are in development with the agent (group level; the release does not say whether the US bank is involved). FIS says it compresses investigations from days to minutes; general availability is planned for H2 2026. ([Business Wire via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202605041800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260504_BW126906-1))
- May 4, 2026 — **Codat machine learning for business-client recommendations** Payments and payables data via APIs drive next-product suggestions for salespeople. ([American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/how-bmo-uses-ai-to-get-more-of-business-clients-business))
- May 1, 2026 — **Quantum algorithm patent for earthquake prediction** Milchanowski's provisional patent, part of the US expansion story. ([Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-01/bmo-turns-to-ai-and-quantum-computing-to-predict-earthquakes))
- Apr 30, 2026 — **Patent application: machine-learning database search** US 2026/0119566 A1, assigned to Bank of Montreal, describes a server that learns table relationships from query logs and builds a graph database. ([Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20260119566A1/en))
- Apr 24, 2026 — **'Return on Intelligence' podcast launched** Interviews on applying AI and quantum across businesses. ([BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-04-24-BMO-Launches-Return-on-Intelligence-Podcast-AI,-Quantum,-and-the-New-Rules-of-Decision-Making))
- Apr 13, 2026 — **Chicago Quantum Exchange and Quantum Industry Canada partnerships** BMO describes new partnerships for commercialisation, research and workforce development across North America. ([BMO](https://bmo.com/en-us/main/about-bmo/news-insights/blog/innovation-with-impact))
- Apr 9, 2026 — **Institute for Applied AI & Quantum established** Milchanowski appointed Chief AI & Quantum Officer; adoption above 96%. ([BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-04-09-BMO-Establishes-Institute-for-Applied-Artificial-Intelligence-Quantum), [Banking Dive](https://www.bankingdive.com/news/bmo-launches-ai-quantum-computing-institute/817076/))
- Mar 26, 2026 — **Investor Day AI scorecard** Deck: 2,000+ developers targeting 20-30% productivity, about 10 million employee prompts, $1B+ PPPT by fiscal 2030; U.S. Banking slide lists AIM, Nova, Lexi, ARM and Aura. Darryl White: agentic AI is embedded in client services and credit decisioning. ([BMO Financial Group (investor relations)](https://www.bmo.com/ir/files/pdfs/BMOInvestorDayPresentation.pdf), [BMO Financial Group (investor relations)](https://www.bmo.com/pdf/2026BMOInvestoDayTranscript.pdf))
- Mar 26, 2026 — **Investor Day: AI in the plan to lift U.S. returns** 15%-plus ROE goal rests on the US business and more AI; AI cut false AML alerts by about 10% and adverse-media searches from 180 to 20 minutes. ([Yahoo Finance Canada](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bmo-aims-increase-business-u-200703810.html))
- Mar 24, 2026 — **Tokenised cash platform on Google Cloud Universal Ledger** First bank to offer CME Group's tokenised cash solution, 24/7. ([The Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/finance/banking/bank-of-montreal-plans-tokenized-cash-platform-0ee00c73))
- Mar 18, 2026 — **BMO Business Outlook: 'a year of AI execution'** Tony Sciarrino says U.S. clients are shifting from wait-and-see to disciplined execution; the Outlook reports companies moving from AI pilots to deployment. ([BMO (U.S. newsroom)](https://usnewsroom.bmo.com/2026-03-18-BMO-Business-Outlook-U-S-Companies-Prioritize-AI-and-Capital-Discipline-Amid-Current-Economic-Conditions))
- Mar 17, 2026 — **130 new California and 15 Arizona branches planned** The US growth plan after selling 138 branches to First Citizens. ([Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bank-montreal-open-over-130-new-california-locations-2026-03-17/))
- Mar 13, 2026 — **Code of Conduct: approved AI tools only** Employees must use BMO-approved AI tools, including Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Chat, under the AI Risk Directive. ([Bank of Montreal (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000119312526105793/d76162dex991.htm))
- Mar 11, 2026 — **Proxy circular: board oversight of AI** The board oversees strategic planning for AI; the Risk Review and Audit and Conduct Review committees receive reporting on AI-related technology risks. ([Bank of Montreal (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000119312526102176/d63354dex991.htm))
- Dec 4, 2025 — **Q4 fiscal 2025 call: GenAI tool for all staff, IBM Quantum Network** Darryl White cites more than 80% active users of the GenAI productivity tool, first Canadian bank access to the IBM Quantum Network, and machine and reinforcement learning in credit and capital markets. ([Investing.com](https://investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-bank-of-montreal-q4-2025-earnings-beat-expectations-93CH-4391363))
- Dec 4, 2025 — **2025 annual report: AI risk directive and first in-house agentic application** An AI risk directive and a Responsible AI Forum that reviews significant AI initiatives; Capital Markets launched its first in-house agentic AI application, analysing historical underwritten loans for bankers; US personal, commercial and wealth businesses unified as U.S. Banking. ([Bank of Montreal (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000119312525307982/d938207dex992.htm))
- Oct 30, 2025 — **Patent application: neural-network cash-flow prediction** US 2025/0335967 A1, assigned to Bank of Montreal, covers a deep neural network that predicts negative cash flow at user level from account data. ([Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20250335967A1/en))
- Oct 23, 2025 — **Evident AI Index 2025: joint #1 for AI talent development** BMO climbed five places overall; Mona Malone and Kristin Milchanowski cite AI for All, Pluralsight learning and the Destination Digital sprint. ([BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2025-10-23-BMO-Earns-Top-Recognition-for-AI-Talent-Development-in-Global-Banking))
- Aug 7, 2025 — **Patent application: deep-learning image recognition** US 2025/0252310 A1, assigned to Bank of Montreal, claims a neural-network system and process for image recognition. ([Google Patents (USPTO)](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20250252310A1/en))
- Jun 24, 2025 — **Joins FINOS effort on vendor-neutral AI standards** With Citi, Morgan Stanley and RBC, alongside AWS, Microsoft and Google Cloud. ([Banking Dive](https://www.bankingdive.com/news/banks-cloud-providers-ai-governance-standards-finos-citi-morgan-stanley-rbc-bmo/751698/))
- Jun 24, 2025 — **Lumi Assistant introduced** Instant access to 8,000-plus policies and procedures for Canadian P&BB teams. ([BMO](https://www.bmo.com/en-ca/main/about-bmo/news-insights/blog/meet-lumi-assistant-bmos-award-winning-ai-tool-empowering-team-bmo))
- Jun 5, 2025 — **Aron Levine hired from Bank of America to lead BMO U.S.** US personal, business, commercial and wealth businesses restructured under one leader. ([Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/en/bmo-hires-former-bofa-executive-aron-levine-lead-us-rejigs-teams-2025-06-05/))
- Oct 1, 2024 — **Milchanowski becomes chief AI and data officer** Responsible for enterprise-wide AI, data, analytics and robotics strategy. ([American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/bmos-kristin-milchanowski-is-39-on-the-most-innovative-people-in-finance-ranking))

## Where AI runs

| Use case | What | Status | Detail | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Credit scoring & underwriting](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#credit-underwriting) | Aura commercial credit agent | Rolling out | Drafts credit-assessment commentary from approved internal systems; underwriters review. | [BMO AI Hub](https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/aura-helping-power-bmos-goal-of-50-faster-underwriting-by-2028) |
| [Generative & agentic AI](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#generative-agentic-ai) | Lumi Assistant | In production | Employee assistant over policies and procedures. | [BMO](https://www.bmo.com/en-ca/main/about-bmo/news-insights/blog/meet-lumi-assistant-bmos-award-winning-ai-tool-empowering-team-bmo) |
| [AML / KYC](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#aml-kyc) | FIS financial-crimes agent (Anthropic) | Announced | AML investigations assembled and triaged by an agent; FIS names BMO at group level, and US deployment is not stated. | [Business Wire via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202605041800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260504_BW126906-1) |
| [Customer-facing chatbots](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#customer-chatbots) | Next Best Offer with Codat | In production | Machine learning on payments data recommends products to bankers. | [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/how-bmo-uses-ai-to-get-more-of-business-clients-business), [BMO AI Hub](https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/next-best-offer-turning-data-into-timely-client-conversations) |
| [Credit scoring & underwriting](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#credit-underwriting) | SmartDecision insurance underwriting | In production | AI-enhanced real-time life-insurance decisions. | [CNW via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202607090730CANADANWCANADAPR_C9043-1) |
| [AI governance (general)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#governance-general) | Responsible AI framework | In production | Accountability, reliability, security, explainability, transparency, fairness, privacy, sustainability. | [BMO AI Hub](https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/aura-helping-power-bmos-goal-of-50-faster-underwriting-by-2028) |
| [AML / KYC](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#aml-kyc) | AI alert triage and adverse-media search | In production | False AML alerts down about 10%; adverse-media searches cut from about 180 to 20 minutes. | [Yahoo Finance Canada](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bmo-aims-increase-business-u-200703810.html) |
| [Model risk management](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#model-risk) | AI risk directive, Responsible AI Forum and model validation | In production | Life-cycle standards for every AI initiative; significant initiatives reviewed by a cross-functional forum; all models using AI subject to validation and monitoring. | [Bank of Montreal (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000119312525307982/d938207dex992.htm), [Bank of Montreal (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000119312526102176/d63354dex991.htm) |
| [Generative & agentic AI](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#generative-agentic-ai) | Capital Markets agentic loan-analysis application | In production | First in-house agentic AI application: analysis of historical underwritten loan transactions for bankers. | [Bank of Montreal (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000119312525307982/d938207dex992.htm) |
| [AI governance (general)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#governance-general) | Approved-tools rule and Microsoft Copilot | In production | Only BMO-approved AI tools may be used for business; Copilot and Copilot Chat under acceptable-use guidance. | [Bank of Montreal (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000119312526105793/d76162dex991.htm) |
| [AI-generated code & coding agents](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#ai-generated-code) | AI coding assistants for 2,000+ developers | In production | Group-wide AI usage across more than 2,000 software developers with a 20-30% productivity target; AI-enabled documentation, development, testing, deployment and monitoring. | [BMO Financial Group (investor relations)](https://www.bmo.com/ir/files/pdfs/BMOInvestorDayPresentation.pdf), [BMO Financial Group (investor relations)](https://www.bmo.com/pdf/2026BMOInvestoDayTranscript.pdf) |
| [Customer-facing chatbots](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#customer-chatbots) | Nova and Lexi knowledge assistants (U.S. Banking) | In production | Natural-language policy and knowledge delivery for frontline staff; self-serve access to 1,000+ BMO policy documents and directives. | [BMO Financial Group (investor relations)](https://www.bmo.com/ir/files/pdfs/BMOInvestorDayPresentation.pdf) |
| [Credit scoring & underwriting](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#credit-underwriting) | ARM automated review triage and portfolio monitoring | In production | Embedded guidance on annual client reviews and automated portfolio monitoring cut cycle time by about 15%; prompt-engineered memo tools for bankers. | [BMO Financial Group (investor relations)](https://www.bmo.com/ir/files/pdfs/BMOInvestorDayPresentation.pdf) |
| [Third-party & vendor AI](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#third-party-vendors) | FICO credit-decision platform on AWS | In production | BMO moved credit decisioning to the FICO Platform on AWS, per AWS (undated); no generative-AI scope stated. | [Amazon Web Services](https://aws.amazon.com/cn/partners/success/bmo-fico/) |
| [Trading & capital markets](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#trading-markets) | Machine and reinforcement learning in credit and capital markets | In production | Darryl White says BMO actively uses machine and reinforcement learning models in credit and capital markets. | [Investing.com](https://investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-bank-of-montreal-q4-2025-earnings-beat-expectations-93CH-4391363) |
| [Generative & agentic AI](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/by-use-case#generative-agentic-ai) | SAFE signer-records platform | In production | AI and machine learning digitise, validate and retrieve account-signer records for Commercial Banking clients in Canada and the U.S. | [BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-05-26-BMO-Wins-Seven-Awards-for-AI,-Digital-Innovation-and-Client-Experiences,1) |

## Disclosed numbers

| Measure | Value | As of | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Employee AI adoption | > 96% | Apr 24, 2026 | [BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-04-24-BMO-Launches-Return-on-Intelligence-Podcast-AI,-Quantum,-and-the-New-Rules-of-Decision-Making) |
| Underwriting speed target | 50% faster by 2028 | Aug 6, 2026 | [BMO AI Hub](https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/aura-helping-power-bmos-goal-of-50-faster-underwriting-by-2028) |
| Policies indexed by Lumi | 8,000+ | Jun 24, 2025 | [BMO](https://www.bmo.com/en-ca/main/about-bmo/news-insights/blog/meet-lumi-assistant-bmos-award-winning-ai-tool-empowering-team-bmo) |
| Group total assets | $1.5 trillion (Jan 31, 2026) | Apr 9, 2026 | [BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-04-09-BMO-Establishes-Institute-for-Applied-Artificial-Intelligence-Quantum) |
| Planned US branches | 130 California + 15 Arizona over five years | Mar 17, 2026 | [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bank-montreal-open-over-130-new-california-locations-2026-03-17/) |
| Target annual benefit from AI initiatives (group) | C$1 billion pre-provision, pre-tax income by 2030 | Sep 22, 2026 | [MarketBeat (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/bmo-sees-loan-demand-surge-020206941.html) |
| AML: false alerts / adverse-media search time | ≈ −10% / 180 → 20 minutes | Mar 26, 2026 | [Yahoo Finance Canada](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bmo-aims-increase-business-u-200703810.html) |
| Lumi: new-employee productivity gain | +17% | Aug 25, 2026 | [Motley Fool (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/bmo-bmo-q3-2026-earnings-174320317.html) |
| U.S. Banking Q3 fiscal 2026: net income / ROE / ROTCE | +9% y/y / 9.8% / 17.3% | Aug 25, 2026 | [Motley Fool (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/bmo-bmo-q3-2026-earnings-174320317.html) |
| U.S. Banking Q3 expense growth vs revenue growth | +3% (largely funded by efficiency) vs +5%; operating leverage 1.7% | Aug 25, 2026 | [Motley Fool (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/bmo-bmo-q3-2026-earnings-174320317.html) |
| Commercial leads from the AIM / Next Best Offer engine | 18,000+ in the first 12 months (launched May 2025) | Aug 6, 2026 | [BMO AI Hub](https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/next-best-offer-turning-data-into-timely-client-conversations), [BMO Financial Group (investor relations)](https://www.bmo.com/ir/files/pdfs/BMOInvestorDayPresentation.pdf) |
| Software developers using AI / productivity target | 2,000+ / 20-30% | Mar 26, 2026 | [BMO Financial Group (investor relations)](https://www.bmo.com/ir/files/pdfs/BMOInvestorDayPresentation.pdf) |
| Employee AI prompts since launch | About 10 million | Mar 26, 2026 | [BMO Financial Group (investor relations)](https://www.bmo.com/ir/files/pdfs/BMOInvestorDayPresentation.pdf) |
| Nova and Lexi policy documents available (U.S. Banking) | 1,000+ | Mar 26, 2026 | [BMO Financial Group (investor relations)](https://www.bmo.com/ir/files/pdfs/BMOInvestorDayPresentation.pdf) |
| Aura goal: underwriting time cut / commercial processes AI-powered | About 50% / 70% by fiscal 2028 | Aug 6, 2026 | [BMO AI Hub](https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/aura-helping-power-bmos-goal-of-50-faster-underwriting-by-2028) |
| Evident AI Index 2026: reported AI use-case outcomes | #2 of 50 banks (top 20 overall) | Oct 6, 2026 | [BMO (CNW via FT Markets)](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/full?dockey=600-202610060700CANADANWCANADAPR_C6630-1) |
| U.S. Banking scale: financial centers / team members / 2025 revenue | 850+ / 12,000 / US$8B+ | Mar 26, 2026 | [BMO Financial Group (investor relations)](https://www.bmo.com/pdf/2026BMOInvestoDayTranscript.pdf) |
| U.S. commercial bankers: now / target | About 800 / 960 by fiscal 2028 | Mar 31, 2026 | [Banking Dive](https://www.bankingdive.com/news/bmo-commercial-bank-us-growth-california-levine-sciarrino/816237/) |

## Quotes

> "It's lazy." — Kristin Milchanowski, Chief AI & Quantum Officer, Jun 17, 2026 ([American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/its-lazy-bmos-milchanowski-on-ai-related-layoffs))

> "BMO is committed to building AI and Quantum capabilities that are innovative, trusted and centered on our clients." — Steve Tennyson, Chief Technology & Operations Officer, Apr 9, 2026 ([BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-04-09-BMO-Establishes-Institute-for-Applied-Artificial-Intelligence-Quantum))

> "We get lots of alerts through our algorithm; AI has been able to take down the number of false alerts already by about 10 per cent." — Piyush Agrawal, Chief Risk Officer, BMO Financial Group, Mar 26, 2026 ([Yahoo Finance Canada](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bmo-aims-increase-business-u-200703810.html))

> "Our value-driven approach to human- and AI-powered client experiences is delivering tangible benefits." — Darryl White, CEO, BMO Financial Group, May 27, 2026 ([Bank of Montreal (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000092797126000088/q22026earningsrelease.htm))

> "Already, agentic AI is being embedded in client services and credit decisioning, and it's expanding rapidly across the functions." — Darryl White, CEO, BMO Financial Group, Mar 26, 2026 ([BMO Financial Group (investor relations)](https://www.bmo.com/pdf/2026BMOInvestoDayTranscript.pdf))

> "By integrating AI across our business, we're personalizing client experiences, augmenting our teams with deeper insights, and automating how we deliver simpler, more proactive support" — Darryl White, CEO, BMO Financial Group, Jun 18, 2026 ([BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-06-18-BMO-Named-Best-Bank-in-North-America,-Western-U-S-and-Transaction-Banking-in-North-America-by-Global-Finance))

> "making sure that every agent has what we call a performance evaluation." — Kristin Milchanowski, Chief AI & Quantum Officer, Jul 9, 2026 ([American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/leaders/how-bmos-chief-ai-officer-looks-at-getting-return-building-trust-in-ai))

> "We're seeing a clear shift from 'wait-and-see' to disciplined execution" — Tony Sciarrino, Head, BMO Commercial Bank, U.S., Mar 18, 2026 ([BMO (U.S. newsroom)](https://usnewsroom.bmo.com/2026-03-18-BMO-Business-Outlook-U-S-Companies-Prioritize-AI-and-Capital-Discipline-Amid-Current-Economic-Conditions))

> "Today, 95% of our teams use AI daily, and that adoption is translating into real outcomes" — Sharon Haward-Laird, Group Head, Canadian Commercial Banking, Aug 6, 2026 ([BMO AI Hub](https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/aura-helping-power-bmos-goal-of-50-faster-underwriting-by-2028))

## Who runs AI

- **Kristin Milchanowski** — Chief AI & Quantum Officer; Founding Director, BMO Institute for Applied AI & Quantum ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinmilchanowski/)) ([BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-04-09-BMO-Establishes-Institute-for-Applied-Artificial-Intelligence-Quantum), [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/bmos-kristin-milchanowski-is-39-on-the-most-innovative-people-in-finance-ranking))
- **Aron Levine** — Group Head and President, BMO U.S. (from July 2025, ex-Bank of America); runs U.S. Personal & Business Banking, U.S. Commercial Banking and U.S. Wealth Management and reports to Darryl White and Darrel Hackett ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aron-levine/)) ([Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/en/bmo-hires-former-bofa-executive-aron-levine-lead-us-rejigs-teams-2025-06-05/), [BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2025-06-05-BMO-Financial-Group-Announces-Executive-Appointments))
- **Steve Tennyson** — Chief Technology & Operations Officer ([BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-04-09-BMO-Establishes-Institute-for-Applied-Artificial-Intelligence-Quantum))
- **Mathew Mehrotra** — Group Head, Canadian Personal and Business Banking (digital sales, agile) ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathew-mehrotra-0843a54/)) ([American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/bmos-mat-mehrotra-is-19-on-the-most-innovative-people-in-finance-ranking))
- **Darryl White** — CEO, BMO Financial Group ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrylwhitebmo)) ([Bank of Montreal (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000092797126000088/q22026earningsrelease.htm), [Motley Fool (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/bmo-bmo-q3-2026-earnings-174320317.html))
- **Rahul Nalgirkar** — Chief Financial Officer, BMO Financial Group ([MarketBeat (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/bmo-sees-loan-demand-surge-020206941.html))
- **Piyush Agrawal** — Chief Risk Officer, BMO Financial Group ([Yahoo Finance Canada](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bmo-aims-increase-business-u-200703810.html))
- **Brent Reston** — Chief Digital Officer, U.S. Banking (started August 17, 2026; San Francisco; reports to Aron Levine; leads US digital banking strategy across U.S. Banking, Technology & Operations and North American Digital Platforms) ([American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/list/bmo-financial-names-brent-reston-chief-digital-officer))
- **Tony Sciarrino** — Head, BMO Commercial Bank, U.S. (joined 2025 after 27 years at Bank of America and a spell at JPMorgan Chase); says AI efficiencies fund hiring and that measuring AI returns is a client sticking point ([Banking Dive](https://www.bankingdive.com/news/bmo-commercial-bank-us-growth-california-levine-sciarrino/816237/), [BMO (U.S. newsroom)](https://usnewsroom.bmo.com/2026-03-18-BMO-Business-Outlook-U-S-Companies-Prioritize-AI-and-Capital-Discipline-Amid-Current-Economic-Conditions), [CNBC](https://cnbc.com/video/2026/08/13/tony-sciarrino-not-making-a-decision-is-a-decision.html))
- **Darrel Hackett** — CEO, BMO Financial Corp. (U.S. CEO); chairs the U.S. Management Committee; no public remarks on AI found beyond group communications ([BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2025-06-05-BMO-Financial-Group-Announces-Executive-Appointments), [BMO Financial Group (investor relations)](https://www.bmo.com/ir/files/pdfs/BMOInvestorDayPresentation.pdf), [BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-06-18-BMO-Named-Best-Bank-in-North-America,-Western-U-S-and-Transaction-Banking-in-North-America-by-Global-Finance))
- **Mona Malone** — Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer; owns AI talent programmes (AI for All, Evident joint #1 in AI talent development, 2025) ([BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2025-10-23-BMO-Earns-Top-Recognition-for-AI-Talent-Development-in-Global-Banking), [BMO AI Hub](https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/at-bmo-ai-value-starts-and-scales-with-people))
- **Sharon Haward-Laird** — Group Head, Canadian Commercial Banking & North American Shared Services; the executive quoted on Aura and daily AI use by 95% of teams (group level) ([BMO AI Hub](https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/aura-helping-power-bmos-goal-of-50-faster-underwriting-by-2028), [BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2025-06-05-BMO-Financial-Group-Announces-Executive-Appointments))
- **Deland Kamanga** — Group Head, BMO Wealth Management; reports 400,000+ assisted hours a year from Wealth AI tools (Nexa, Rovr; group level) ([BMO AI Hub](http://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/helping-wealth-professionals-focus-on-what-matters-most))
- **Derek Vernon** — Head, North American Treasury and Payment Solutions; the SAFE signer-records platform that uses AI and machine learning covers Canada and the U.S. ([BMO](https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-05-26-BMO-Wins-Seven-Awards-for-AI,-Digital-Innovation-and-Client-Experiences,1))
- **Victor Tung** — U.S. Chief Technology and Operations Officer and CIOO of Capital Markets, as described by AWS (undated page); speaks on BMO's AWS training partnership ([Amazon Web Services](https://aws.amazon.com/enterprise/execleaders/customer-success-stories/bank-of-montreal/))

## Open AI roles

Data as of Oct 25, 2026 (2026-10-25) · read from the bank's own careers site, re-checked weekly.

6 open AI-related postings on [the careers site](https://bmo.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/External) as of Oct 25, 2026. A snapshot of current openings, not a source: postings close.

- [Director AI Platform Engineering](https://bmo.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/External/job/Chicago-IL-USA/Director-AI-Platform-Engineering_R260025294) — Chicago IL USA (+4 more)
- [Principal Architect AI Platform](https://bmo.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/External/job/Chicago-IL-USA/Principal-Architect-AI-Platform_R260025290) — Chicago IL USA (+5 more)
- [Principal Engineer AI](https://bmo.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/External/job/Chicago-Heights-IL-USA/Principal-Cloud-Engineer-AI_R260025275) — Chicago Heights IL USA (+5 more)
- [Principal Cloud Engineer AI](https://bmo.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/External/job/Chicago-IL-USA/Principal-Engineer-AI_R260027531) — Chicago IL USA (+1 more)
- [Senior Data Scientist](https://bmo.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/External/job/Chicago-IL-USA/Senior-Data-Scientist_R260027153) — Chicago, IL, USA
- [Product Owner, AI & Analytics](https://bmo.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/External/job/San-Ramon-CA-USA/Product-Owner--AI---Analytics_R260028963) — San Ramon CA USA (+1 more) — posted Oct 14, 2026

## Which AI vendors and fintechs does BMO work with?

| Company | What BMO uses it for | Status | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [FICO](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/vendors/fico) | Modernized credit decisioning on FICO Platform, running on AWS, moving off legacy on-premises infrastructure | In production | [Credit decisioning](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-tools/credit-decisioning) |
| [Blend](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/vendors/blend) | Mortgage, home equity, Blend Close and personal lending at BMO Bank (Chicago), with a direct integration between Blend and its loan origination system; Blend reports a 53% year-over-year rise in digital home equity applications. | In production | [Document AI](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-tools/document-ai) |
| [Microsoft 365 Copilot](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/vendors/microsoft-copilot) | Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Chat are BMO-approved AI tools, used under Microsoft Copilot acceptable-use guidance (BMO group Code of Conduct). | In production | [Enterprise AI assistants](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-tools/enterprise-ai-assistants) |
| [Claude (Anthropic)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/vendors/anthropic-claude) | Named by FIS among the first institutions developing its Anthropic-built financial-crimes (AML) agent (May 2026; group level, US scope not stated). | Announced | [Enterprise AI assistants](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-tools/enterprise-ai-assistants) |

Each vendor and fintech page cites the source for the relationship. [AI tools for banks](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-tools) · [fintech and neobank AI dossiers](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/fintech).

## Regulators it answers to

- [OCC](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/occ) — BMO Bank N.A. is a national bank; the revised model risk guidance covers Aura-style credit models. See [OCC Bulletin 2026-13](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/occ-bulletin-2026-13).
- [Federal Reserve](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/federal-reserve) — BMO Financial Corp. is the US intermediate holding company; SR 23-4 governs Codat, FIS and Google Cloud relationships. See [SR 23-4](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/fed-sr-23-4), [SR 26-2](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/fed-sr-26-2).
- [FinCEN](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/fincen) — If the FIS/Anthropic AML agent FIS names for BMO is deployed in the US bank, it would sit inside the BSA/AML program the 2026 proposed rule reshapes. See [2026 AML/CFT Program Proposed Rule](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/fincen-aml-cft-program-nprm-2026).
- [CFPB](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/cfpb) — US consumer and small-business lending under ECOA; adverse-action duties apply to AI-assisted decisions. See [ECOA / Regulation B adverse action (15 U.S.C. 1691(d); 12 CFR 1002.9)](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/cfpb-ecoa-regulation-b-adverse-action).
- [State of California](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/california) — The California expansion brings the CPPA's automated decision-making regulations into scope. See [CPPA ADMT, risk-assessment and cybersecurity-audit regulations](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-regulation/documents/ca-cppa-admt-risk-cyber-regulations-2025).

## What the record suggests

### A credit agent with a published speed target is a governance commitment

'50% faster by 2028' will be measured; Aura's human-review design and the responsible-AI framework it cites are what supervisors will test when speed pressures accuracy.

### The no-layoff stance sets a benchmark competitors will be asked about

'Grow while keeping headcount level' is a testable claim; it also shapes how the workforce receives 96% adoption.

### Vendor agents inside the AML program

FIS naming BMO among the first institutions developing its Anthropic-built agent (group level; general availability planned for H2 2026) points to a use case regulators reward; a US deployment would fall inside the third-party-risk expectations for critical activities.

### Quantum is branding today and a risk-model tomorrow

The institute's quantum remit is unusual in banking; the earthquake-prediction patent reads as expansion narrative, but quantum-safe cryptography is the part supervisors will care about.

## FAQ

### What is Aura at BMO?

Aura is a generative-AI assistant launched in 2026 as the first agent in BMO's program to make commercial underwriting 50% faster by 2028. It reviews information from approved internal systems and drafts commentary for key sections of commercial credit submissions, so underwriters start from a structured draft rather than a blank page; underwriters remain responsible for reviewing it and for the lending decision.

### Who is BMO's chief AI officer?

Dr. Kristin Milchanowski, BMO's chief AI and data officer since October 2024, was appointed Chief AI & Quantum Officer on April 6, 2026 and is founding director of the BMO Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence & Quantum. She is a member of the technology and operations executive committee and hosts the bank's 'Return on Intelligence' podcast.

### Who leads AI at BMO U.S.?

Enterprise AI is led from Toronto by Dr. Kristin Milchanowski, Chief AI and Quantum Officer since April 6, 2026 and founding director of the BMO Institute for Applied AI and Quantum. In the US, Brent Reston became chief digital officer for U.S. Banking on August 17, 2026, reporting to Aron Levine, President of BMO U.S., with a remit across digital banking, technology and operations. Darrel Hackett is CEO of BMO Financial Corp. and Tony Sciarrino heads the U.S. commercial bank, where the Investor Day deck places the AIM lead engine and the ARM and Aura review tools. BMO has not named a separate US chief AI officer.

### What AI tools does BMO's U.S. bank use?

The U.S. Banking section of the March 26, 2026 Investor Day deck lists the AIM prospecting engine (18,000+ tailored commercial leads and offers since May 2025), the Nova and Lexi chat bots (1,000+ policy documents) and ARM and Aura for risk monitoring, annual reviews and memo drafting. Group-wide, 2,000+ developers use AI with a 20-30% productivity target, the tools reached the whole workforce at 96% adoption, and Microsoft Copilot is an approved tool under the AI Risk Directive. In Q3 fiscal 2026, U.S. Banking net income rose 9% with expenses up 3%.

### What AI patents and partners does BMO have?

Patents assigned to Bank of Montreal include granted US 12,236,505 B2 (machine-learning flood hazard maps, February 25, 2025) and published applications on image recognition (August 7, 2025), neural-network cash-flow prediction (October 30, 2025) and machine-learning database search (April 30, 2026). Named partners are Microsoft Copilot, FIS with Anthropic (AML agent in development), Codat, AWS with FICO, Google Cloud with CME Group, IBM Quantum Network and the Chicago Quantum Exchange. BMO has not published AI contract values or a GPU vendor.

## Sources (50)

1. BMO Establishes Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence & Quantum — BMO, Apr 9, 2026. https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-04-09-BMO-Establishes-Institute-for-Applied-Artificial-Intelligence-Quantum
2. BMO Launches Return on Intelligence Podcast — BMO, Apr 24, 2026. https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-04-24-BMO-Launches-Return-on-Intelligence-Podcast-AI,-Quantum,-and-the-New-Rules-of-Decision-Making
3. Aura: Helping power BMO's goal of 50% faster underwriting by 2028 — BMO AI Hub, Aug 6, 2026. https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/aura-helping-power-bmos-goal-of-50-faster-underwriting-by-2028
4. Next Best Offer: Turning data into timely client conversations — BMO AI Hub, Aug 6, 2026. https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/next-best-offer-turning-data-into-timely-client-conversations
5. Meet Lumi Assistant: BMO's award-winning AI tool empowering Team BMO — BMO, Jun 24, 2025. https://www.bmo.com/en-ca/main/about-bmo/news-insights/blog/meet-lumi-assistant-bmos-award-winning-ai-tool-empowering-team-bmo
6. Kristin Milchanowski's AI for All initiative — American Banker, Jun 1, 2026. https://www.americanbanker.com/news/bmos-kristin-milchanowski-is-39-on-the-most-innovative-people-in-finance-ranking
7. 'It's lazy:' BMO's Milchanowski on AI-related layoffs — American Banker, Jun 17, 2026. https://www.americanbanker.com/news/its-lazy-bmos-milchanowski-on-ai-related-layoffs
8. How BMO uses AI to get more of business clients' business — American Banker, May 4, 2026. https://www.americanbanker.com/news/how-bmo-uses-ai-to-get-more-of-business-clients-business
9. BMO's Mathew Mehrotra thinks before innovating — American Banker, Jun 1, 2026. https://www.americanbanker.com/news/bmos-mat-mehrotra-is-19-on-the-most-innovative-people-in-finance-ranking
10. BMO hires former BofA executive Aron Levine to lead US units, rejigs teams — Reuters, Jun 5, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/en/bmo-hires-former-bofa-executive-aron-levine-lead-us-rejigs-teams-2025-06-05/
11. Bank of Montreal to open over 130 new California locations — Reuters, Mar 17, 2026. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bank-montreal-open-over-130-new-california-locations-2026-03-17/
12. BMO Turns to AI and Quantum Computing to Predict Earthquakes — Bloomberg, May 1, 2026. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-01/bmo-turns-to-ai-and-quantum-computing-to-predict-earthquakes
13. Bank of Montreal Plans Tokenized Cash Platform — The Wall Street Journal, Mar 24, 2026. https://www.wsj.com/finance/banking/bank-of-montreal-plans-tokenized-cash-platform-0ee00c73
14. FIS Brings Agentic AI to Banking with Anthropic, Starting with Financial Crimes — Business Wire via FT Markets, May 4, 2026. https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202605041800BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260504_BW126906-1
15. BMO Insurance launches AI-enhanced SmartDecision tool — CNW via FT Markets, Jul 9, 2026. https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202607090730CANADANWCANADAPR_C9043-1
16. BMO launches AI, quantum computing institute — Banking Dive, Apr 9, 2026. https://www.bankingdive.com/news/bmo-launches-ai-quantum-computing-institute/817076/
17. Bank of Montreal Form 40-F for fiscal 2025, Exhibit 99.2: 208th Annual Report 2025, Management's Discussion and Analysis — Bank of Montreal (SEC filing), Dec 4, 2025. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000119312525307982/d938207dex992.htm
18. Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders and Management Proxy Circular 2026 (Form 6-K, Exhibit 99.1) — Bank of Montreal (SEC filing), Mar 11, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000119312526102176/d63354dex991.htm
19. BMO's Code of Conduct (Form 6-K, Exhibit 99.1) — Bank of Montreal (SEC filing), Mar 13, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000119312526105793/d76162dex991.htm
20. BMO aims to increase business in the U.S., return on equity to more than 15% by 2028 — Yahoo Finance Canada, Mar 26, 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bmo-aims-increase-business-u-200703810.html
21. BMO Financial Group Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results (Form 6-K, Exhibit 99.1) — Bank of Montreal (SEC filing), May 27, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000092797126000088/q22026earningsrelease.htm
22. BMO Financial names Brent Reston chief digital officer — American Banker, Aug 21, 2026. https://www.americanbanker.com/list/bmo-financial-names-brent-reston-chief-digital-officer
23. BMO (BMO) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript — Motley Fool (Yahoo Finance), Sep 1, 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/bmo-bmo-q3-2026-earnings-174320317.html
24. BMO Sees Loan Demand Surge as Returns Rise Toward 2027 Targets — MarketBeat (Yahoo Finance), Sep 22, 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/bmo-sees-loan-demand-surge-020206941.html
25. Banking industry, big tech unite to forge AI adoption guidelines — Banking Dive, Jun 24, 2025. https://www.bankingdive.com/news/banks-cloud-providers-ai-governance-standards-finos-citi-morgan-stanley-rbc-bmo/751698/
26. Blend Honors Seven Customers With Best in Banking Awards at Forum 2026 — Business Wire via FT Markets, Aug 27, 2026. https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202608271600BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260827_BW757201-1
27. 2026 BMO Investor Day presentation — BMO Financial Group (investor relations), Mar 26, 2026. https://www.bmo.com/ir/files/pdfs/BMOInvestorDayPresentation.pdf
28. March 26, 2026 BMO Investor Day (transcript) — BMO Financial Group (investor relations), Mar 26, 2026. https://www.bmo.com/pdf/2026BMOInvestoDayTranscript.pdf
29. BMO Financial Group Announces Executive Appointments — BMO, Jun 5, 2025. https://newsroom.bmo.com/2025-06-05-BMO-Financial-Group-Announces-Executive-Appointments
30. BMO eyes top-5 commercial bank status with California push — Banking Dive, Mar 31, 2026. https://www.bankingdive.com/news/bmo-commercial-bank-us-growth-california-levine-sciarrino/816237/
31. BMO Business Outlook: U.S. Companies Prioritize AI and Capital Discipline Amid Current Economic Conditions — BMO (U.S. newsroom), Mar 18, 2026. https://usnewsroom.bmo.com/2026-03-18-BMO-Business-Outlook-U-S-Companies-Prioritize-AI-and-Capital-Discipline-Amid-Current-Economic-Conditions
32. Tony Sciarrino: Not making a decision is a decision — CNBC, Aug 13, 2026. https://cnbc.com/video/2026/08/13/tony-sciarrino-not-making-a-decision-is-a-decision.html
33. BMO US President: See growth beyond AI plane — Bloomberg, Aug 28, 2026. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2026-08-28/bmo-us-president-see-growth-beyond-ai-plane-video
34. Innovation with impact: Advancing AI and quantum technologies — BMO, Apr 13, 2026. https://bmo.com/en-us/main/about-bmo/news-insights/blog/innovation-with-impact
35. BMO Renews Five-Year Partnership with Vector Institute to Advance Responsible AI — BMO, May 28, 2026. https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-05-28-BMO-Renews-Five-Year-Partnership-with-Vector-Institute-to-Advance-Responsible-AI
36. BMO Invests in Radical Ventures' Breakouts Fund to Help Scale Next Generation of AI Talent and Drive Economic Growth — BMO, Sep 15, 2026. https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-09-15-BMO-Invests-in-Radical-Ventures-Breakouts-Fund-to-Help-Scale-Next-Generation-of-AI-Talent-and-Drive-Economic-Growth
37. BMO Wins Seven Awards for AI, Digital Innovation and Client Experiences — BMO, May 26, 2026. https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-05-26-BMO-Wins-Seven-Awards-for-AI,-Digital-Innovation-and-Client-Experiences,1
38. BMO Named Best Bank in North America, Western U.S. and Transaction Banking in North America by Global Finance — BMO, Jun 18, 2026. https://newsroom.bmo.com/2026-06-18-BMO-Named-Best-Bank-in-North-America,-Western-U-S-and-Transaction-Banking-in-North-America-by-Global-Finance
39. BMO Earns Top Recognition for AI Talent Development in Global Banking — BMO, Oct 23, 2025. https://newsroom.bmo.com/2025-10-23-BMO-Earns-Top-Recognition-for-AI-Talent-Development-in-Global-Banking
40. BMO Earns Top Recognition for Responsible AI Leadership in Global Banking — BMO (CNW via FT Markets), Oct 6, 2026. https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/full?dockey=600-202610060700CANADANWCANADAPR_C6630-1
41. At BMO, AI value starts and scales with people — BMO AI Hub, Aug 25, 2026. https://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/at-bmo-ai-value-starts-and-scales-with-people
42. Helping wealth professionals focus on what matters most — BMO AI Hub, Jul 27, 2026. http://ai.bmo.com/our-stories/helping-wealth-professionals-focus-on-what-matters-most
43. How BMO's chief AI officer is building trust in AI models — American Banker, Jul 9, 2026. https://americanbanker.com/leaders/how-bmos-chief-ai-officer-looks-at-getting-return-building-trust-in-ai
44. Earnings call transcript: Bank Of Montreal Q4 2025 earnings beat expectations — Investing.com, Dec 4, 2025. https://investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-bank-of-montreal-q4-2025-earnings-beat-expectations-93CH-4391363
45. FICO Success Story: BMO (undated page, retrieved 2026-10-13) — Amazon Web Services, Oct 13, 2026. https://aws.amazon.com/cn/partners/success/bmo-fico/
46. Bank of Montreal (AWS ExecLeaders, undated page, retrieved 2026-10-13) — Amazon Web Services, Oct 13, 2026. https://aws.amazon.com/enterprise/execleaders/customer-success-stories/bank-of-montreal/
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48. US20250252310A1: Deep-learning-based system and process for image recognition — Google Patents (USPTO), Aug 7, 2025. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20250252310A1/en
49. US20250335967A1: Artificial intelligence modeling to predict electronic account data — Google Patents (USPTO), Oct 30, 2025. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20250335967A1/en
50. US20260119566A1: Machine learning based database search and knowledge mining — Google Patents (USPTO), Apr 30, 2026. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20260119566A1/en

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