Royal Bank of Canada creates dedicated AI team

The creation of the new team comes after RBC in December reported that it is set to generate up to C$1 billion in enterprise value from AI in 2027.

While banks around the world have been racing to capture the benefits of AI, RBC has been particularly keen on harnessing the tech, ranking in the top five of global lenders for publishing research into the subject.

This research has paid off in the shape of initiatives such as the proprietorial Atom model developed by an internal AI research unit, which is now being used to improve credit adjudication capabilities and loyalty programme personalisation.

Almost 27,000 employees are now using RBC Assist and 8,000 Capital Markets employees are using Aiden, the bank’s proprietary AI employee assistant tools to work faster and smarter and free up time for more meaningful work.

“RBC has spent the past decade investing in AI, including proprietary data platforms and scale, exceptional talent and world-class security,” says Dave McKay, president and CEO, RBC. “With generative and agentic AI opening new frontiers for financial services, we are creating a dedicated team to leverage our core strength and data scale and partner across the business to turn potential into real value for our clients.”

RBC has tapped veteran tech executive Bruce Ross to lead the new group. In his new role, transitioning from group head of technology and operations, Ross will lead a team that serves as an AI accelerator for the bank, with a focus on driving the shift from early-stage AI projects to scaled, production-ready deployments.

The team will also be responsible for advancing research into emerging use cases across generative and agentic AI, while maintaining expertise in security, responsible AI and regulatory expectations.

The new AI Group will additionally help to equip the bank’s workforce of more than 100,000 employees in 29 countries with training, tools and support to harness the technology in their day-to-day activities.

“AI is a generational technology that enables us to reimagine what is possible and with almost a decade of investment in AI talent, RBC is perfectly positioned to unlock the full potential of our people,” says Kelly Bradley, chief human resources officer, RBC. “We see AI acting as a key tool helping employees to make better decisions, uncover opportunities, focus on higher-impact work and grow their skills for the future. That’s why we have prioritized AI fluency with our executives and rolled out training and tools to help all employees adapt, learn and stay curious as AI becomes part of how we work.”

Naim Kazmi, most recently EVP, commercial, core banking & payments technology will take over Ross’s former position as tech lead.