The human channel “is the biggest moat or the biggest differentiator the banks have” versus large language models and AI agents, said the chief executive of Personetics.

As artificial intelligence poses a bigger threat to the banking industry, lenders need to emphasize their human element to maintain customer relationships.

That’s according to Udi Ziv, the CEO of Personetics, a fintech that provides banks and credit unions with insights, data analysis and relationship management tools.

The human channel “is the biggest moat or the biggest differentiator the banks have” versus large language models and AI agents, Ziv said during an interview at last month’s Money20/20 conference in Las Vegas.

“The human side of the bank, when it comes to relationships, is extremely important,” and banks are investing in that with more branches and banker hires, he said.

Personetics counts half of the top 40 retail banks in North America as customers, Ziv said, including Truist, Huntington and Royal Bank of Canada. KeyBank, for one, uses New York-based Personetics to provide customers with increased transaction detail.

With AI tools going from analysis to action, big banks JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citi have blocked AI agent access to customer accounts. Wells Fargo is informing customers of their responsibility when using AI tools. PNC CEO Bill Demchak, for his part, has said agent-only transactions will never happen.

Banks face moderate risk from AI-related business disruption over the next five years, largely due to “increased technological competition on processes and products,” Fitch Ratings said Oct.

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