Automation and artificial intelligence could save banks more than $70 billion by 2025

• North American banks could save $70 billion by 2025 by using technology such as automation and artificial intelligence to trim workers and boost productivity, according to a Thursday study from Accenture.
• Savings across the entire financial services industry, which includes banking, insurance, and capital markets, could reach $140 billion in the same time frame, according to the report.
• "Automation and augmentation can liberate hours that can then be refocused on human strengths and high-value work such as innovation, relationships and customer experience," according to the report.
• Read more on Business Insider.

Banks could save billions of dollars by using technology such as automation and artificial intelligence, according to a study released Thursday by Accenture.

By using technology to automate jobs or help employees at work, North American banks could save more than $70 billion by 2025, the study showed.

Across the entire financial services industry, which includes banking, insurance, and capital markets, savings could be between $87 billion and $140 billion in the same time frame.

"Massive social and technology change is creating a range of threats and challenges," for financial services firms, Accenture wrote. But, it also creates "the opportunity to unlock significant value through a new workforce, new ways of working, and new job roles."

The study estimates that by 2025, 7% to 10% of tasks will be automated, boosting cost and productivity savings.

"Automation and augmentation can liberate hours that can then be refocused on human strengths and high-value work such as innovation, relationships and customer experience," according to the report. These are things that also generate "substantial value" for organizations, Accenture said.

More than half of tasks currently performed by loan officers, personal financial advisers, tellers, and customer service representatives could be either automated or augmented by technology by 2025, the study found.

A number of banks such as Citigroup, Capital One, and JPMorgan Chase are already using technology like artificial intelligence to aid workers, or have automated parts of tasks to eliminate jobs.

Studies have estimated that as many as 1.3 finance jobs in the US could disappear by 2030 as banks look for ways to cut costs.