TLDR: Citi has commenced the rollout of agentic artificial intelligence, specifically Cognition’s Devin agent, to its 40,000 developers. This initiative aims to automate routine tasks such as software patches and upgrades, building on the success of previous generative AI tools like GitHub Copilot, which has already saved the bank significant developer hours.
Citi is embarking on a significant technological advancement by deploying agentic artificial intelligence to its vast workforce of 40,000 developers. This strategic move is designed to automate simple yet time-consuming tasks, including software patches and system upgrades, thereby enhancing efficiency and productivity within the bank’s technology division.
The core of this new deployment is Cognition’s Devin agent, an advanced AI system capable of making autonomous decisions and executing actions with minimal human oversight. This represents a step beyond Citi’s prior adoption of generative AI tools. Approximately a year ago, Citi had already equipped its 40,000 developers with GitHub Copilot, a generative AI-based coding assistant. Copilot has proven highly effective, providing real-time code suggestions, generating code from natural language prompts, assisting with debugging, and automating parts of the code review process. The bank estimates that GitHub Copilot has completed an impressive 740,000 automated reviews, translating to an approximate saving of 100,000 hours per week for its developers.
David Griffiths, Citi’s Chief Technology Officer, highlighted the distinct capabilities of the new agentic AI compared to its generative counterpart. While Copilot serves as an excellent assistive tool, helping developers complete tasks faster by auto-completing portions of their work, the Devin agent offers a more proactive partnership. Griffiths explained, ‘You can give the agentic AI a task, and the agentic AI will execute that task for you, so it can act as more of a proactive partner to a developer.’ Initially, Citi’s developers will assign Devin agents simpler tasks, with expectations for them to tackle more complex assignments in the future.
This deployment by Citi aligns with a broader trend of increasing AI adoption among major financial institutions. For instance, Goldman Sachs is reportedly testing the same Cognition AI agent for an anticipated rollout to its 12,000 human developers, and JPMorgan Chase has already deployed generative AI across its 240,000 employees.
Citi’s commitment to AI innovation extends beyond its developer workforce. The bank has been actively integrating AI across various functions, having launched ‘Citi AI’ to approximately 150,000 colleagues globally. Thousands of employees are already utilizing tools like Citi Stylus for document intelligence, Citi Assist for internal policy navigation, and Agent Assist and Enhanced Interactive Voice Response (IVR) in customer service operations to improve client interactions and resolve inquiries more swiftly. The bank’s AI Centre of Excellence is also developing robust governance frameworks to manage the operations of these autonomous agents.
Also Read:
- Goldman Sachs Integrates ‘Devin’ AI as a New Digital Employee to Enhance Software Development
- The Quiet Revolution: Agentic AI Reshaping Software Development Roles
The emergence of agentic AI is seen as a critical driver for the ‘Do It For Me’ economy, with potential applications spanning autonomous financial advisors, advanced fraud detection systems, and automated compliance. Industry projections suggest the agentic AI market could reach $10.41 billion by 2025, with the period between 2025 and 2028 identified as a critical deployment window for autonomous financial agents, positioning Citi to capitalize on early capabilities in this transformative technology.
