Thousands of Santander employees are set to gain access to new workplace technology as the banking giant pushes ahead with a major efficiency drive.
The move comes as banks across the industry look for new ways to reduce costs and improve productivity.
Banco Santander has announced plans to cut more than £433million in costs across its global operations over the coming years.
The banking group will extend access to artificial intelligence tools to all 185,000 employees worldwide, including around 15,000 staff at Santander UK.
Currently, around 40,000 workers across the organisation are actively using the technology.
Santander said the savings will come from automating processes, improving productivity and simplifying operations.
The lender has not said whether the plans will affect jobs and has not announced a workforce reduction programme linked to the rollout.
Banco Santander is targeting more than £860million in additional revenue and cost savings between 2026 and 2028, with more than half of that figure expected to come from lower costs.
By the end of 2026, the group expects the initiative to generate more than £173.4million in additional business value, including across its UK banking arm.
The financial benefits are already beginning to emerge, with Santander reporting £30.3million in gains during the first quarter of this year.
The group expects the initiative to generate more than £173.4million in additional business value
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GETTYThat figure is expected to increase further in the months ahead as the technology is adopted more widely across the business.
The banking sector has increasingly embraced AI as a tool for reducing operational expenses, though most institutions have yet to quantify the financial advantages.
Ricardo Martin Manjon, the bank’s chief data and AI officer, said: “Santander is moving from AI ambition to execution.”
He added: “One year after setting out our ambition to become a data and AI-first bank, artificial intelligence is already helping us improve how we work, serve customers, manage risk and run the bank.”
The move comes as banks across the industry look for new ways to reduce costs and improve productivity
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GETTYMr Martin Manjon emphasised that the institution has progressed beyond theoretical planning stages.
“We are not starting from theory: AI is already improving processes, supporting our teams and opening new opportunities across the bank,” he said.
The executive outlined the path ahead, stating: “Now the opportunity is to move forward with focus, discipline and ambition.”
He stressed that AI is “not only about efficiency”, adding: “It is also opening new opportunities for growth.”
Within the UK specifically, Santander is deploying AI technology across its voice channels to assist customers with card-related enquiries.
The group has set an ambitious target for approximately 240,000 calls annually – representing 40 per cent of incoming calls – to be handled through self-service options.
According to the bank, this approach would save customers roughly 26,000 hours while freeing up around 45,000 hours for service teams to concentrate on more complex customer requirements.
Lloyds Banking Group reported earlier this year that AI had delivered a direct £50million profit boost in 2025 through a combination of revenue increases and cost efficiencies.
Standard Chartered’s chief executive Bill Winters recently sparked controversy by suggesting AI would replace “lower-value human capital” as the bank announced approximately 7,800 job cuts, though he later said his comments were taken “out of context”.