'Weve removed the biggest barrier to customer AI adoption: writers block' Starling Bank AI boss on why agentic AI could be the key to help customers manage their money better

Date:
Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:02:26 +0000

Description:
Starling Bank tells us why its AI tools could help users supercharge their money management

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter AI is helping revolutionise industries everywhere, but it can also have benefits for customers and consumers.

In the banking sector, AI is set to bring significant changes, with smart tools able to help customers overcome the biggest limitation of AI prompting: knowing what to ask. The last 18 months have seen Starling launch a suite of customer-facing generative and agentic AI tools, and we spoke to its deputy CIO Frederic Laurent to find out more. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch
full video here: Most banks are using AI behind the scenes, but Starling is really dialling up its customer facing tools. What are you hoping to achieve here? When we received our banking licence ten years ago, we were part of a breed of challenger banks that pioneered app based banking. Weve applied our tech expertise to solve so many customer problems in that time, from tools that help customers control their gambling; lock their card if they lose it; or get spending insights about where their money really goes. Many are now at play at traditional banks today.

But there are so many more problems that technology hasnt been able to
address yet; the UKs financial literacy levels are low, many people dont feel fully in control of their money, and scams are on the rise. Those are just a few of the challenges we think AI can tackle. You may like From experimentation to execution: where agentic AI is delivering real value
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Granted, some of these challenges like fighting fraud can be addressed with back office AI applications. But it would be a shame to only use this technology behind the scenes, when it could have far greater impact in customers hands. We therefore knew that when AI hit the public arena, and was no longer the reserve of technology teams, we should be ready to roll out customer facing AI tools of our own.

We saw the launch of customer facing LLMs as that trigger point and, using Google s Gemini models, weve rolled out a number of tools that were first to market. Our Spending Insights tool uses Gen AI to help customers interrogate their spending using natural language; finding out how much you spent on takeaways last month can make you seriously reconsider your budget.
Meanwhile, our Scam Intelligence tool educates our customers on the warning signs of scams; it increased the rate that customers cancel marketplace payments by 300%, and was welcomed by the UK Fraud Minister. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get
all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You moved beyond Gen AI to agentic, launching an agentic AI financial assistant earlier this year. What does it do and what impact is it having? If Gen AI does the thinking, then agentic AI does the doing, and Starling Assistant leverages both capabilities to respond to customer queries and carry out actions on their behalf.

It helps customers feel more in control of their money, whether its creating budgets for them, setting up saving plans, opening Spaces or running through
a list of their direct debits - all by responding to natural language
prompts.

Another game changer is the new interface it brings to banking. Customers are no longer confined to buttons and app screens - theyre presented with a blank page and an opportunity to share the problems they want the assistant to solve. What to read next I asked AI for financial advice on everyday money decisions Amazon Business tells us why AI could supercharge procurement like never before Why financial institutions need a clearer approach to AI governance

We launched this expecting our younger or more tech savvy customers to use it most frequently, but actually its older customers or those who are new to the bank that have embraced it most. For many, asking simple questions is the easiest way to manage their money. (Image credit: Starling Bank) Is adoption as strong as it could be? What can you do to encourage greater sign-ups? Not yet - usage mirrors what were seeing with general public AI models in that some people love AI, some dabble and some dont see the full potential.

Weve also realised that some customers suffer from writers block. When faced with an AI assistant that has seemingly limitless opportunities, they can be paralysed by indecision or lack of imagination on what commands to give.

Weve launched our new smart tools programme to give our customers more inspiration. Think of it like a set of predefined prompts that show customers exactly how AI can help them, from preparing SMEs for Making Tax Digital, helping university students maximise their maintenance loan, or helping customers set up the right scam controls for their needs.

Well be rolling out new smart tools weekly to keep the inspiration going, and were encouraging customers to share their own requests with us too. Soon,
well be allowing customers to build their own smart tools, save them to the assistant and create an AI banking experience thats entirely bespoke to their needs. What do you think comes next in this field? Were looking forward to seeing even more customers adopt our tools, and more banks offer similar capabilities. Theres no question in my mind that AI is the future of money management and, collectively, the banks can drive that behaviour change.

At Starling, well keep the smart tool engine running and will continue to address customer problems as we have always done. Another frontier for us is agentic payments and commerce; watch this space. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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