Citi GPS, Citi’s thought leadership product, last week released a report exploring the transformative potential of agentic artificial intelligence (AI), a cutting-edge advancement enabling AI systems to make decisions and execute tasks autonomously.
The report, titled ‘Agentic AI - Finance & the ‘Do It For Me’ Economy explores how agentic AI is poised to redefine industries, particularly financial services, by increasing efficiency, scalability, and personalisation.
Agentic AI marks a shift towards what Citi GPS calls the ‘do it for me’ economy, where technology takes over decision-making and task execution. Unlike generative AI, which relies on user prompts, agentic AI adapts and acts autonomously.
According to Citi GPS, in 2024, 37% of the VC funding went to AI startups, which is likely to increase in 2025. Autonomous agents and digital co-workers had the biggest growth in VC deal activity in 2024, followed by GenAI for customer support operations. This trend is set to continue as BigTech and the VC community are looking at Agentic AI in 2025 and beyond.
“The IT department of every company is going to be the HR department of AI agents in the future,” the report quotes Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA. Agentic AI’s ability to imitate human agency, and in some cases surpass it, promises a wave of innovation that could redefine how financial services operate.
Citi GPS identifies agentic AI as a game-changer for the financial sector. From virtual financial assistants providing tailored investment advice to autonomous fraud detection systems, the applications are extensive. Compliance processes, such as know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) checks, can also be streamlined, significantly reducing manual effort and error rates.
Agentic contracts are another breakthrough highlighted in the report. These programmable, enforceable agreements automate compliance, payments, and regulatory monitoring, with the potential to revolutionise asset finance and contract management.
Citi GPS highlights a surge in venture capital interest, with funding for autonomous AI startups reaching record levels in 2024. Leading firms such as Microsoft, Oracle, and Amazon are rapidly incorporating agentic AI into their platforms, signalling a broader adoption wave in 2025.
However, the report also underscores threats such as AI-driven fraud, deepfake scams, and data misuse. Deepfake scams are cited to have increased more than 2000% over the last three years and banks/FinTechs are one of the most targeted victims.