Citi’s Ryan: Employee buy-in on AI will yield ‘innovation dividend’

Core Insights - The importance of employee buy-in for AI strategies is emphasized over merely selecting the right technology [1][5][6] Company Strategy - Citi's board considers AI a continuous topic of discussion, highlighting its significance in the bank's operational transformation [3] - Tim Ryan, head of technology and business enablement, stresses that successful implementation of AI requires engaging employees in the strategy [2][5] Employee Engagement - Approximately 180,000 out of 230,000 Citi employees are utilizing AI tools, demonstrating a significant level of engagement [4] - Employees have generated 7 million prompts and conducted 1 million automated code reviews in the first eight months of the year, resulting in a time savings of 100,000 hours weekly [4] Change Management - Ryan identifies change management as a critical factor in optimizing AI strategies, suggesting that technology alone is insufficient without effective implementation [6] - The concept of an "innovation dividend" is introduced, where employee involvement leads to new customer service methods, revenue growth, risk management, and operational efficiency [5] AI Accelerators - Citi has established 4,000 "AI accelerators," which are employees across various functions who actively support the bank's AI strategy [7]