How Citigroup Helps Employees Harness the Power of AI

AI is prompting ongoing boardroom debates as business leaders weigh up whether automation stands to eliminate jobs or open up new opportunities.

At the World Economic Forum's recent Annual Meeting in Davos, executives including Accenture’s Julie Sweet and Salesforce’s Marc Benioff discussed the importance of teaching the workforce to interact with AI. Now, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser has joined the conversation, arguing the way companies train employees will shape whether AI proves helpful or harmful.

"AI has the potential to make tremendous changes," Jane told The Washington Post during the Davos meeting. “It’s going to create huge numbers of new jobs that we can’t even imagine what they are today. It will change the nature of what people do every day.”

Jane said it was unclear as to whether the "puts and takes are going to coincide," referring to the balance between job losses and gains, but insists workers must remain “as much in the driving seat as possible.”

She continued: "We're encouraging our people, saying not that AI is going to take your job away, but someone using AI is probably going to be better at your job than you are.” 

Building AI on ethical principles

Citigroup began using AI at scale in AI, introducing a framework of ethical principles designed to guide employee use of the technology.

Jane believes relying entirely on rules is too rigid: “I like principles to help guide decision-making because I think it's hard to have entirely rules-based [systems] to guide people."

Her preference is for a flexible approach that recognises the human aspect of work. She explained how this method allows staff to adopt AI in ways that support both their roles and Citigroup’s customers, with an emphasis on utility rather than novelty.

“How did it help them for their job," she said. "How did it serve our customers better without being precious about it."

Jane went on to highlight how AI assists her in gathering and summarising information more efficiently.

Implementing an AI-first culture

As Citigroup embeds AI across its operations, employee training is fast becoming a top priority.

“It will help them in life as well as at work, so that’s why we started having mandatory training for everyone,” said Jane. “Some people can get intimidated by the tools, so let’s help support getting rid of the myths of intimidation.”

This company-wide effort aligns with Citigroup’s plan to modernise its infrastructure, improve efficiency and deliver better customer service.

In 2025, the organisation began equipping more than 175,000 employees with internal AI tools. Ultimately, its “AI-first” approach aims to embed the technology at every level – not just in specialist departments.

Jane went on to explain that AI adoption can play a role in staff retention, with half of all new roles at Citigroup filled by current staff. She gives the example of the company’s site in South Dakota, where many employees have spent 30 years at the bank and experienced 12 different careers during that time.

“I want to stack the odds that we will help people reinvent themselves [using AI] the same way as they have done themselves,” added Jane. Her belief is that giving employees direct control over their AI learning helps build transparency about future roles.