There's a lot of conversation about what AI can do for financial services. But I think there's a more important question we need to be asking: what are customers actually comfortable letting it do?
That was the focus of our recent Leeds Digital Festival event, The Technology Trust Gap in Financial Services, where I was joined by speakers from Yorkshire Building Society and Titan Wealth to explore how the sector can embrace innovation without losing customer confidence.
We shared findings from our research with 1,027 UK banking customers, alongside real-world perspectives on how financial services organisations are approaching and adopting technology and AI.
And one thing became clear: customers aren't rejecting technology. They're asking for more control, greater transparency and reassurance that their interests come first.
Here are my four biggest takeaways from the discussion.
1. Just because you can automate something doesn't mean you should
Our research found that 40% of customers feel banks are moving too quickly with AI adoption.
But that doesn't mean they're against AI altogether. Customers are generally comfortable using technology for everyday financial tasks, such as paying bills or getting budgeting recommendations. Where confidence starts to fall is when technology takes greater control over important financial decisions. Efficiency is clearly welcomed but lack of control isn’t.
One of the strongest points raised during our discussion was the importance of starting with lower-risk applications, where the consequences of something going wrong are limited.
For me, this comes down to a simple question: are we introducing technology because it genuinely improves the customer experience, or simply because we can?
Financial services brands need to be selective about where they automate, particularly when decisions could have significant consequences for customers.
2. Transparency needs to be useful, not another tick-box exercise
One of the most striking findings from our research was that 66% of customers feel there isn't enough transparency around how AI is being used, while 81% want its use clearly signposted.
Customers want to know when they're interacting with AI, what it's being used for and what alternatives are available as unseen AI clearly creates anxiety. But as we discussed during the event, there's a danger of repeating the mistakes we've made with cookie banners and endless pop-ups. More information doesn't automatically mean greater understanding.
Transparency should help customers make informed choices and build brand trust, not create another obstacle in an already complicated journey.
That could be as straightforward as clearly identifying an AI chatbot, explaining how it can help and making it easy to speak to a person instead.
The opportunity isn't simply to tell customers that AI is being used. It's to explain why it's being used and what value it brings to them.
3. Trust isn't determined by age alone
Our research found that 83% of customers want FCA oversight of financial AI, rising to 90% among over-55s.
It's tempting to assume that older customers are less comfortable with digital technology. But our discussion highlighted why those assumptions can be misleading.
Two people of a similar age can have completely different attitudes towards banking apps, AI and automation. One might happily manage everything digitally, while another prefers greater reassurance and human support.
Age can tell us something about customer attitudes, but it doesn't tell us everything.
We need to understand people's motivations, concerns and confidence levels, rather than relying on broad demographic assumptions.
And with technology and customer expectations changing so quickly, that understanding needs to be continually refreshed.
For marketing and digital teams, this means regularly revisiting customer research, testing assumptions and making sure digital journeys reflect what people actually need and want from you.
4. Human support shouldn't become a luxury
This was perhaps the most interesting discussion of the morning.
Our research found that 60% of customers want access to a real person to verify AI recommendations, while 40% would be willing to pay extra for guaranteed human support.
But should they have to?
Both our speakers were clear that human interaction remains a fundamental part of their customer proposition, particularly when people are making important financial decisions or experiencing vulnerable moments.
I wholeheartedly agree!
The real opportunity for AI isn't to remove people from financial services. It's to free them up to deliver more valuable human interactions.
If automation can reduce administrative work and give advisers more time to understand and support their customers, that's a meaningful improvement.
But if it makes customers work harder to get the reassurance they need, we have to question whether we're really improving the experience.
So, where should financial services brands focus next?
If there's one thing I'd encourage financial services leaders to take away from our discussion, it's this: lead with trust, not technology.
Before introducing AI into a customer journey, ask yourself:
- Does it genuinely improve the experience? Focus on customer value, not just operational efficiency.
- Does the customer remain in control? Use AI to support decisions without automatically taking them out of customers' hands.
- Is its role clear? Explain where AI is being used, why it's being used and what the alternatives are.
- Can customers easily reach a human? Make sure support is accessible when reassurance or personal judgement is needed. (or, as we coined in our session, make sure you protect the human “escape hatch”!)
These aren't particularly complicated principles. In many ways, they're the foundations of good customer experience design.
But as the pressure to innovate grows, they're also the things we risk overlooking.
Technology will continue to move quickly. Customer trust won't necessarily move at the same pace.
And I believe the financial services brands that get this right won't simply be those adopting AI the fastest. They'll be the ones that understand where it adds value, where customers need reassurance and when human interaction still matters most.
Because ultimately, the goal shouldn't be to make every financial interaction automated. It should be to make every interaction better.
Explore the research
Our Technology Trust Gap whitepaper explores what 1,027 UK banking customers really think about AI, automation and emerging technology in financial services, and what organisations can do to build greater customer confidence.
Unless otherwise stated, all statistics are taken from Enjoy Digital's exclusive 2026 research of 1,027 UK banking consumers, exploring attitudes towards AI, trust and digital financial services.
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