Standard Bank Group is entering the next phase of its artificial intelligence evolution, moving beyond the adoption of individual tools and experimentation with use cases towards embedding AI as a core organisational capability. As access to leading AI models becomes increasingly widespread, competitive advantage will be determined less by the technology itself and more by how effectively organisations combine AI with trusted data, strong governance, skilled people and deep knowledge of their clients and markets. Standard Bank believes the future will belong not to the organisations with access to the newest models, but to those that redesign how they work around AI.
That transition is already underway. More than 39,000 employees, representing 72% of the Group’s workforce, are now active users of generative AI, supported by a portfolio of approved enterprise tools that have been assessed for security, privacy and responsible use, alongside specialist AI tools for functions such as software engineering. Around one-third of the Group’s technology employees are also using AI-enabled coding tools, with early use cases demonstrating productivity improvements of approximately 20%.
The Group’s enterprise AI platform, built on Amazon Bedrock, reflects a deliberate multi-model strategy. Rather than relying on a single provider or model, the platform enables Standard Bank to securely evaluate, deploy and govern the most appropriate open or closed models as the technology continues to evolve, allowing innovation while maintaining consistent security, governance and operational standards.
Margaret Nienaber, Chief Operating Officer of Standard Bank Group, says: “We are transitioning from simply using AI tools to becoming an AI-enabled organisation. That is a fundamentally bigger ambition. The winners in AI will not necessarily be the organisations with access to the newest technology, because increasingly many organisations will have access to similar models and tools. The real differentiator will be how effectively you combine that technology with trusted data, strong governance, the right skills and deep knowledge of your clients and markets. AI is becoming a core long term competitive capability rather than simply a technology capability. Our focus is on embedding it into how we serve clients, how we support our people and how we run the Group, creating a foundation for long-term growth.”
Standard Bank describes this transition through the analogy of an iceberg. The natural focus is on what is visible above the water: the AI tools employees use, the experiences clients see and the individual use cases being deployed across the Group. But the foundations that determine whether AI can scale sit below the surface.
These foundations include trusted data, scalable technology infrastructure, access to leading AI models, security and risk controls, responsible governance and, critically, the skills and culture required for people to use AI effectively. If organisations focus only on what is visible above the water, AI risks remaining a collection of experiments. Building strength below the surface is what allows AI to become a scalable competitive capability.
Above the water, Standard Bank has made deliberate choices about where to focus first. The Group has prioritised four lighthouse areas – relationship management, servicing, payments and lending – based on their potential to improve client experience and unlock value, their feasibility, and the opportunity to build capabilities once and reuse them across the Group.
In relationship management, AI is helping bankers spend less time searching for information and more time engaging with clients. In servicing, it is simplifying interactions across digital channels, contact centres and branches while preserving human capacity for more complex client needs. In payments, AI is improving operational efficiency, strengthening fraud management and preparing for the emergence of AI agents in commerce. In lending, it is streamlining processes across credit assessment, contracting and disbursements.
“AI can give our people time back, but what we do with that time is what really matters,” says Nienaber.
“We want to reinvest it in the things humans do particularly well: judgement, creativity, relationships, empathy and solving complex problems for clients. This is why we see AI as augmenting our people rather than simply automating work. Technology on its own is not the competitive advantage; the advantage comes from what our people are able to do with it.”
Below the water, the rapid integration of AI has been enabled by several years of investment in the Group’s technology platform. By the end of the first half of 2026, 78% of migratable compute had moved to the cloud, providing the scalable foundation required to deploy AI securely and consistently across the organisation.
The Group’s progress has also received external recognition. In the inaugural Evident AI Index for Banks in the Middle East and Africa, published in June 2026, Standard Bank was ranked the leading bank in Africa, including South Africa, and second overall across the Middle East and Africa region.
As AI continues to evolve at pace, Standard Bank’s ambition extends beyond adopting new technology. The Group is building the organisational capability to evolve with it, combining trusted data, modern technology, skilled people and responsible governance to create better client experiences, improve productivity and support sustainable long-term growth.
