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JPMorgan Chase is testing large language models for staff reviews, part of a wider financial-sector push to integrate AI into core business functions.
The integration of AI into the workplace is accelerating, potentially boosting efficiency and productivity, but also redefining the boundaries between human and machine tasks.
As a result, JPMorgan Chase, led by CEO Jamie Dimon, is advancing its use of AI by offering employees the option to use it for writing annual performance reviews.
According to a report by the Financial Times, employees at JPMorgan Chase can now utilise JPMorgan Chase’s proprietary large language model (LLM) to help generate reviews.
This tool uses prompts from the user to create text, a method designed to streamline the review process for managers overseeing multiple staff members.
JPMorgan Chase introduced its LLM Suite to employees in early 2024 and reported that it had onboarded 200,000 users within the first eight months. A July 2024 memo to employees signed by executives, including Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO of JPMorgan’s Asset and Wealth Management Business, and Chief Information Officer Mike Urciuoli, discussed its role.
In the memo, JPMorgan Chase said: “Think of LLM Suite as a research analyst that can offer information, solutions, and advice on a topic.”
JPMorgan stated the suite was created in-house to ensure secure access to third-party AI systems.
Employee training and AI upskilling
JPMorgan Chase has identified AI as a central component of its US$18bn technology investment for 2025. The company is now focusing on a major training initiative to equip its global workforce with the skills to leverage AI effectively.
In an interview with McKinsey & Company on 29 October 2024, Chief Analytics Officer Derek Waldron explained that the objective is to educate every employee on how AI can be applied to their specific role.
He says: “Training needs are varied, just like AI applications. The best way to approach this is segment by segment.”
Derek elaborated on the strategy, saying: “First, the employee base at large: we need to train them to get comfortable using and understanding AI tools now available and think about how to put them to good use daily.”
He also highlights JPMorgan Chase’s ‘AI Made Easy’ training programme, which has already seen involvement from tens of thousands of employees.
Derek stresses that adaptation is required across all departments, not just non-technical ones, adding: “Software engineers need to be upskilled to build scalable systems based on agents and LLM components.”
Sector-wide AI integration
JPMorgan is not the only financial institution prioritising AI. Citigroup has also been accelerating its AI strategy, with CEO Jane Fraser aiming to modernise Citigroup through technological transformation.
In a June internal memo, senior executives, including Gonzalo Luchetti, Head of US Personal Banking and Tim Ryan, Head of Technology and Business Enablement, says: “We are focusing on accelerating our AI strategy – connecting teams and partners, prioritising resources and expediting use cases across our business and function.”
The memo outlined that this is being achieved through a focus on new tools, pilot programmes and a wider effort to embed AI across Citigroup’s operations.
According to Business Insider, Jane reported during Citigroup’s Q3 earnings call that nearly 180,000 employees in 83 countries have access to Citigroup’s proprietary AI tools.
She noted these tools have saved 100,000 developer hours a week with automated code reviews, calling the result “a very meaningful productivity lift”.
The competitive AI landscape
Goldman Sachs is another major player with a substantial technology spend, committing US$6bn this year. At a conference in early October, CEO David Solomon expressed a desire for this investment to be even greater.
Goldman Sachs launched its own internal AI assistant for employees over the summer.
Marco Argenti, the Chief Information Officer at Goldman Sachs, described the tool in an April interview with Business Insider, saying: “It’s like the ultimate librarian that knows how to find the information.”
The widespread introduction of AI across the banking sector is creating a new standard where employees at all levels are encouraged to adopt these tools to improve their daily work processes.
