Lloyds to put chief executive and all top bosses through six-month AI course

Lloyds is putting its chief executive and all top bosses through a six-month Cambridge artificial intelligence (AI) training course, as the bank puts its full weight behind the technology.

Charlie Nunn and his executive team will be taught to reimagine the future of banking with generative AI under the training.

Around 300 senior managers across the banking group are expected to take part in the bespoke programme, created with education technology firm Cambridge Spark and designed with experts from the University of Cambridge.

More than 110 Lloyds bosses have already completed the 80-hour course, which launched in March and takes six months to do.

The entire executive committee, which includes Mr Nunn, finance chief William Chalmers and Scottish Widows boss Chirantan Barua, are expected to complete the programme by the end of 2026.

The bank has also announced Bristol as its “AI capital” of the UK, with the largest concentration of experts on the technology in the city.

It has grown a team of nearly 1,300 tech specialists, while hundreds of apprentices and graduates joined last month.

Lloyds has been accelerating efforts to boost its digital services and focus on AI, which can be used for many banking processes.

It is also being increasingly harnessed for customer engagement such as its in-app virtual assistant and dealing with complaints.

At the same time, Lloyds has been cutting hundreds of branches across its UK network as it said they are not being used by many of its customers who prefer to bank online.

It says it is the UK’s largest digital bank with around 21 million customers using its app.

Lloyds bosses involved in the Cambridge course will take part in hands-on sessions and virtual masterclasses, exploring how generative AI can be used and taking some ideas forward to be piloted within the bank.

This includes using the technology to support market-based insights and its systems for managing relationships with business customers.

It will also focus on how leaders can innovate at the bank using AI in an “ethical” way.