Marco Li Mandri from ING frames generative AI in banking as something that augments people rather than replacing them. In his view, ING are not at a point where AI can genuinely take over the parts of banking that rely on judgement, accountability, and trust, especially when it comes to customer advice. ING points to big, high-stakes decisions like choosing the right mortgage or selecting an investment strategy, where the “human advice” element still matters most, not just for reassurance but because these decisions are personal, regulated, and often nuanced.
ING sees the real shift happening is in AI agents, which are tools that can carry out tasks, move processes along, and coordinate steps across a service journey and describes this as a “paradigm shift” that could make banking services noticeably faster for customers which can provide shorter “time to yes”, quicker approvals, and less waiting around while routine checks and handoffs happen in the background. In other words: people are staying central for guidance and decision-making, while agent-driven automation helps speed up the heavy lifting that slows customers down today.
