“A back office made up of AI agents is not merely a technological evolution. It represents a shift in the organisation’s mindset: from repetitive human work to truly strategic human work.” Frederico Moreira, Account Manager Financial Service at Glintt Next
Banking enters the era of autonomous agents
At a time when Artificial Intelligence has stopped being just a promise and become a structural part of technological infrastructure, banking is entering its biggest operational transformation since industrial automation — moving from largely human-driven back offices to agentized models, where autonomous agents execute and coordinate processes in an integrated, auditable, and First Time Right manner.
From prototype to business imperative
In recent years, the evolution of generative AI has created real conditions for intelligent agents to move beyond prototypes and take on complete tasks. According to the study The Agentic Workforce: How AI Is Redefining Back-Office Efficiency And Strategy, AI agents are no longer mere productivity tools; they are now a business imperative, capable of executing tasks, learning from outcomes, and continuously optimising complex processes.
Towards the non-human enterprise — and the risks it brings
This evolution of generative AI has allowed these agents to take on end-to-end tasks and continuously optimise results, bringing us closer to the concept of the non-human enterprise. Intelligent systems collaborate with one another, learn from context, and take on part of the decision-making process. But this also gives rise to new risks: ensuring agents don’t hallucinate, don’t drift from their objective, and don’t introduce vulnerabilities or operational risk.
Governance as a condition for real transformation
To achieve this, it is essential to establish clear operational boundaries, domain-specialised agents, and self-monitoring and self-correction mechanisms that ensure compliance with business rules. True transformation requires reconfiguring processes, intelligently integrating data, and orchestrating multiple models across multi-agent, multi-vendor environments — supported by unified telemetry, full traceability, and cross-functional governance spanning technology, risk, and compliance.
Overcoming the limitations of previous waves
Only this way can the sector overcome the limitations of previous waves — such as process management, task robotisation, and low-code — which improved parts of operations but left behind fragmented processes, manual work, and strong human dependency to resolve exceptions. With smarter new operating models (such as Zero Ops and First Time Right), banking can finally close this structural gap, creating autonomous, resilient, and scalable operations where errors are prevented at the source and teams focus on higher-value decisions.
A traditionally conservative sector betting on competitive advantage
Traditionally conservative, banking is now among the sectors most interested in agentized architectures. This isn’t just about cutting costs — it’s about gaining competitive advantage in an environment where speed and operational robustness are decisive.
A shift in mindset, not just technology
The question is no longer whether this model will become dominant, but how to ensure its adoption is ethical, secure, and sustainable. A back office made up of AI agents is not merely a technological evolution. It represents a shift in the organisation’s mindset: from repetitive human work to truly strategic human work.
Leaders who can combine long-term vision with technical discipline and a governed approach to agentization will be the ones who define the new operational standard for Portuguese and global banking.
source: Jornal Económico
