America’s Oldest Bank Bets Big on AI, Unveiling 134 "Digital Employees" to Augment Human Workforce

BNY Mellon, America’s oldest bank, is making a significant strategic shift by integrating 134 "digital employees" into its operations. These AI-powered workers, characterized by their tireless 24/7 availability and lack of traditional human attributes like names or sick days, are working alongside their human colleagues, taking on specific, repetitive tasks. This initiative represents a key component of BNY Mellon’s broader technology investment strategy, which has seen the institution spend $3.8 billion on technology in 2025, accounting for approximately 19% of its revenue – the highest proportion among its large-bank peers.

Rachel Lewis, head of payment operations for BNY Mellon, highlighted the distinct capabilities of these digital employees. "The digital employee works 24/7, which is obviously very different to our human counterparts," Lewis stated. "It’s really focused on very specific repetitive tasks that allow our human employees to do much more human, intense, interesting-type roles." This approach aims to reallocate human capital towards more complex, engaging, and value-added activities, rather than outright replacement.

The integration of digital employees comes as BNY Mellon’s human workforce has seen a slight decrease, with 48,100 employees currently, down from approximately 53,400 in 2023, according to a recent earnings presentation. However, CFO Dermot McDonogh clarified that this headcount reduction is not directly attributable to AI at this stage. During the firm’s fourth-quarter analyst call, McDonogh emphasized that AI’s role is viewed through a lens of "unlocking capacity," rather than a narrow definition of efficiency. "We don’t think about it in the narrow definition of efficiency. It’s all about growing with clients, increasing revenues and optimizing the potential for our employees," he explained.

The financial industry as a whole is under increasing scrutiny from analysts and investors regarding the return on investment for substantial AI expenditures. Wall Street is keen to understand how these investments will translate into tangible efficiencies and enhanced profitability. Mike Mayo, an analyst at Wells Fargo, described the current landscape as an "AI arms race," cautioning that success should not be measured solely by spending volume. "But you don’t define success by who spends the most. You define success by who has the best results," Mayo remarked, adding that some tech spending can be characterized as "spraying and praying."

Despite the general cautiousness, BNY Mellon has been identified as a potential beneficiary of significant AI-driven productivity gains. Research conducted by Goldman Sachs, which screened the Russell 1000 index for companies with high labor costs and exposure to AI automation, ranked BNY Mellon favorably. The firm’s analysis suggests that BNY Mellon could experience a potential 19% boost to its earnings per share through AI adoption.

However, BNY Mellon executives have consistently asserted that their technological advancements are not intended to come at the expense of their human workforce. Michelle O’Reilly, BNY Mellon’s global head of talent, articulated this perspective: "I wouldn’t think about it that way. I would think about it more as unlocking that productivity – enabling all employees to be productive."

In parallel with building its digital workforce, BNY Mellon is actively engaged in upskilling its human employees. Following the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, the bank established its AI Hub, recognizing the transformative potential of artificial intelligence. Leigh-Ann Russell, BNY Mellon’s chief information officer and global head of engineering, stated, "That’s when we really doubled down and realized that this would be transformational for the bank. Our biggest focus initially was enablement – getting some training rolled out to every one of our employees at the bank."

The bank has developed a proprietary platform called Eliza, which integrates various open-source and commercially available AI models with BNY Mellon’s internal data and compliance frameworks. Nearly all of BNY Mellon’s workforce has completed a 10-hour training program for Eliza. Furthermore, thousands of employees have participated in a more intensive, multi-day AI bootcamp designed to equip individuals, including those without engineering backgrounds, with the skills to identify and automate aspects of their roles.

The naming of the Eliza platform is a deliberate nod to Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, the wife of Alexander Hamilton, the bank’s founder and America’s first Treasury Secretary. This choice underscores the bank’s commitment to blending its long-standing heritage with cutting-edge innovation. Russell elaborated on this philosophy: "Democratization of this technology is one of our sweet spots on how we feel like we’ve been successful so far. I have this juxtaposition of this original history of this amazing 241-year institution and being at the forefront of AI, and I think that’s just a lovely reminder of technology over the centuries." This dual focus on historical legacy and technological advancement positions BNY Mellon as a unique player in the evolving financial landscape.