What is Zions Bancorporation's AI strategy?
Zions' AI strategy starts from its finished core. The bank completed an 11-year replacement of its loan and deposit systems in 2024, and president Scott McLean says having 'all of our loans and deposits on one data model' is the advantage; chairman Harris Simmons wrote in the 2024 annual report that the bank built 'a strong data governance organization that will serve us well in an era of artificial intelligence'. By September 2025, 56% of employees used generative AI for contract review, relationship-review preparation, credit presentations and email triage. Chief information officer Margaret Mayer is building an enterprise AI platform on Google Gemini, and the bank uses AI on unstructured documents for onboarding and loan origination, in fraud detection, client authentication, AML false positives and credit review. Simmons said in April 2026 that AI in credit review lets the bank 'expand the population of deals that we're looking at'. The 2025 10-K says Zions has 'not implemented fully autonomous AI-driven systems in critical decision-making processes or client-facing activities'. The 2026 proxy lists 'deployment of innovative AI and digital capabilities' among the CEO's 2025 accomplishments; AI is one lever in about $40 million of 2026 savings initiatives.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Data as of Oct 16, 2026 · Zions profile updated Oct 13, 2026 · 17 sources cited on this page · 140 banks profiled on this site · Markdown
What has Zions' leadership said about AI, and when?
| Date | Who / where | What was said | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 21, 2024 | Simmons and team, American Banker | Core replacement finished on TCS BaNCS; plans to go deeper into AI and generative AI | About 500 deposit products cut to about 100[9] |
| March 21, 2025 | Simmons, 2024 annual report letter | Data cleansing and 'a strong data governance organization that will serve us well in an era of artificial intelligence' | Back-office functions consolidated[3] |
| July 21, 2025 | McLean, Q2 2025 call | AI used 'actively' on false positives in the wire room and in AML/BSA; on 21,000 W-9s and signature cards a year | About 2% of expenses removed each year[5] |
| September 10, 2025 | Simmons, Barclays conference | 'a variety of projects in the works, which I really believe will have a major impact over the next three or four years' | Credit examination and treasury operations named[10] |
| September 24, 2025 | Jennifer Smith, American Banker | 56% of the workforce using generative AI; Genovate peer coaching | Products on the new core ship 20% faster[1] |
| January 20, 2026 | McLean, Q4 2025 call | 'We've been using AI for a long time': fraud detection, client authentication, product recommendations, statement spreading | About $40 million of savings initiatives in 2026 plan[4] |
| March 10, 2026 | Mayer and Collins, American Banker | Enterprise AI platform on Google Gemini; AI processes unstructured documents for onboarding and origination | 330,000 address-change emails a year cited as an automation target[2] |
| March 19, 2026 | 2026 proxy | CEO credited with 'deployment of innovative AI and digital capabilities'; CRO with a Data and AI Governance Committee and an AI Responsible Use Policy | 2025 performance year[8] |
| April 20, 2026 | Simmons, Q1 2026 call | AI in appraisal, document and contract review and credit review; agentic-AI threat to deposits 'overplayed' | Clean core data is the advantage[6] |
| July 20, 2026 | Q2 2026 call | AI seen as a potential long-term lever to reduce outsourcing expenses | Technology costs elevated on vendor price increases[11] |
Who runs AI at Zions, and how is it organised?
AI sits in Enterprise Technology and Operations. Since March 3, 2026 it has been co-run by chief information officer Margaret Mayer and chief transformation and operations officer Ken Collins, after Jennifer Smith, who led the core replacement and the generative-AI rollout, left; McLean credited Smith with the core, modernising legacy systems and the 400,000 square foot Zions Technology Center. Mayer joined as CTO on October 17, 2023 from Discover and, before that, 22 years at Capital One, where she was managing vice president of messaging, conversational AI and emerging technologies.[12][13][14]
The bank has no named chief AI officer. Governance sits with a Data and AI Governance Committee of senior leaders from risk, legal, technology and data; the 2026 proxy credits chief risk officer Chris Kyriakakis with overseeing its development and a related AI Responsible Use Policy, and with an Innovate2Optimize program to build risk-management solutions using AI.[7][8]
AI is paired with headcount and sourcing changes rather than presented as a separate investment. Headcount fell from about 10,300 in 2019 to about 9,190 at the end of 2025, with 'well less than 9,000' expected a year later, and the offshore share of staff is to rise from about 3% to about 10% by the end of 2026.[15]
Not disclosed: an AI budget, the number of AI use cases in production, or results from the Gemini platform. The quarterly reports for 2026 describe AI only as an emerging technology with 'positive and disruptive impacts'.[16][17]
What does the Zions profile record on this topic?
The rows below are the entries of the Zions AI strategy profile that bear on this page, as of Oct 13, 2026; the profile holds the full record of 21 dated moves, 16 use cases and 24 sources.
| Use case | What the record shows | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generative AI for bankers (56% adoption) | Contract review, relationship-review prep, credit presentations, email triage. | In production | [1] |
| Enterprise AI platform on Google Gemini | A single platform with governance, policies and standards for enterprise use. | Rolling out | [2] |
| AI in credit examination and treasury-management operations | Simmons names both as areas with AI projects expected to have a major impact over three to four years. | Rolling out | [10][6] |
| Date | Move | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 20, 2026 | Q2 2026 call: AI as a lever against outsourcing costs | Technology costs stay elevated on vendor price increases and software maintenance; management sees AI as a potential long-term lever to reduce outsourcing expenses. | [11] |
| Apr 20, 2026 | Q1 2026 call: CEO on AI use cases and the agentic-AI threat | Appraisal, document and contract review, and AI in credit review to widen the population of deals examined; clean data from the core replacement is the advantage; concerns about agentic AI and deposit margins 'get overplayed'. | [6] |
| Mar 10, 2026 | Gemini platform, document AI, and 'no autonomous AI' in client decisions | The new leadership on AI governance, unstructured-document processing and a measured stance; stablecoin trials planned. | [2] |
| Jan 20, 2026 | Q4 2025 call: from exploration to a handful of AI projects | The president lists AI already in use (fraud detection, client authentication, product recommendations, financial-statement spreading, document processing), about $40 million of savings initiatives in the expense plan, and headcount below 9,300 from about 10,300 in 2019. | [4] |
| Sep 24, 2025 | 56% of staff on generative AI | Genovate peer coaching; copilots for bankers and fraud-detection tools under construction; products 20% faster. | [1] |
| Sep 10, 2025 | Barclays conference: AI projects in credit examination and treasury operations | Simmons names credit examination and treasury-management operations, expects headcount to fall 2% to 3% a year, calls the TCS BaNCS project FutureCore and says it forced a data clean-up. | [10] |
| Jul 21, 2025 | Q2 2025 call: AI in AML alerts, wire-room false positives and W-9 processing | McLean says about 2% of the expense base is removed each year through continuous improvement, that AI handles the 21,000 W-9 forms and signature cards a year, cuts false positives in the wire room and AML/BSA, and supports loan spreading, credit presentations and loan reviews. | [5] |
| Dec 31, 2024 | Core replacement complete, gen AI integrated | The multi-year overhaul of loan and deposit cores finishes with generative AI built in. | [1] |
| Aug 21, 2024 | Core replacement closes on TCS BaNCS | American Banker: selected in 2013, three phases (consumer loans 2017, commercial and construction loans 2019, deposits July 2024), about three times longer than planned; about 500 deposit products cut to about 100. Simmons says real-time processing should help catch fraud faster, and Zions plans to go deeper into AI and generative AI. | [9] |
What is Zions' approach to AI?
Targeted and human-supervised. Zions uses AI in specific workflows such as fraud detection, document processing, AML false positives and credit review, had 56% of staff on generative AI by September 2025, and is building an enterprise platform on Google Gemini. Its 2025 10-K says it has not deployed fully autonomous AI in critical decisions or client-facing activities.
Who leads AI at Zions?
No chief AI officer is named. Chief information officer Margaret Mayer, a former Capital One conversational-AI executive, and chief transformation and operations officer Ken Collins have co-run technology and operations since March 2026. The Data and AI Governance Committee sets AI policy, and the CRO oversaw its creation.
Why does Zions say its core matters for AI?
Zions finished replacing its loan and deposit cores in 2024 after 11 years. Management says putting all loans and deposits on one data model, and the data clean-up that required, is what lets it apply AI; Simmons wrote that the data governance organization built along the way will 'serve us well in an era of artificial intelligence'.
Is AI cutting jobs at Zions?
Management links AI to a broader efficiency program rather than a stated job count. Headcount fell from about 10,300 in 2019 to about 9,190 at end-2025 and is expected to drop below 9,000; Simmons has said he expects 2% to 3% a year, alongside more offshoring and outsourcing.
Does Zions use generative AI with customers?
Not autonomously. The 10-K says AI is used to support, inform or augment decisions and client interactions with all final actions under human review, and executives describe AI-assisted handling of the 330,000 address-change emails a year as a target rather than a live customer-facing agent.
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- Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- Zions Bancorporation, N.A. 2026 Proxy Statement (DEF 14A)
- Zions leaders reflect on lessons learned from 11-year core upgrade
- Zions at Barclays Conference: Strategic Optimism Amid Uncertainty
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- Zions at RBC Capital Conference: Strategic Growth Amid Challenges
- Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026
- Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026
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