How USAA Uses AI to Boost Efficiency and Real Financial Outcomes

Kristina Tanner from USAA focuses on a practical, two-part view of AI in banking: first, using it to make internal work more efficient, and second, using it to genuinely improve customers’ financial outcomes.

USAA starts with efficiency, which they call “the more boring way” to think about AI, but also the first place banks should focus. Teams are spend huge amounts of time pulling data together, cleaning it, and trying to interpret it before any decisions can be made and AI can automate much of that upfront grind so people spend less time gathering information and more time actually solving problems, designing better experiences, and making smart decisions.

USAA then moves to the more transformative side: using AI to turn data into insights for customers. The industry has talked about personalisation in digital for years, but, as Tanner points out, most of it still isn’t truly personal. AI learns from data and ongoing feedback, so there’s a chance to finally deliver experiences that feel specific to each person, not just targeted marketing, but tailored financial guidance. That could mean showing customers timely insights about their spending, nudging them toward healthier habits, or helping them make small changes that make their financial lives a bit easier.

Crucially, USAA wants AI to be judged not just on engagement, but on the outcomes and talks about measuring whether customers are actually more financially well-off. The idea is to connect AI-driven experiences directly to real-world financial health, not just smoother digital journeys which sets a clear bar: if AI isn’t improving resilience and reducing financial stress, it isn’t doing enough.

To illustrate the efficiency point, Tanner shares a simple example from her team. As soon as they got access to AI tools on their desktops, someone exported all their Apple App Store reviews and asked the AI: “Tell me what I need to work on.” Within seconds, it grouped the feedback into clear themes. The output largely confirmed what the team already suspected, but the speed was the breakthrough. A task that would have taken significant manual effort turned into a near-instant step, letting the team focus on what changes to make rather than on processing the data.

USAA’s message is straightforward: AI doesn’t have to be flashy to be powerful and its real value comes from compressing the time between data and action, and from using that capability not just to optimise operations, but to deliver truly personal insights that can be measured in better financial outcomes for customers.

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