If there is one comment that will likely stick in the minds of the community bank executives who participated in this week’s technology peer exchanges at Bank Director’s 2026 Bank C-Suite Summit it is, “How you got here isn’t how you’ll get there.”
Tim Daley, principal digital strategist at banking solutions provider Q2, uttered the remark during a conversation about the increasingly competitive future community banks will face as online banks and fintechs join large institutions to offer the latest in advanced digital solutions. At the very top of that list of solutions is artificial intelligence (AI). While community bank CEOs understand they must implement AI tools to remain competitive, many are having a hard time figuring out the best way to do that.
Thomas Rudzewick, CEO of $2.2 billion Malspeth Federal Savings and Loan Association, based in the New York City borough of Queens, says AI is pushing community banks to move at an uncomfortable pace. “It’s the speed and velocity that worries me the most as a community banker, because we’ve never operated at this level, and we’re running now at 7,000 RPMs every single minute,” he says. “It’s tough to stay in that left lane and also be very protective over what we feel are responsibilities to our customers and our members. And that’s a tough balance for a small community bank. We have to be really careful.”
Those who advise banks on AI use say caution definitely has its place. Professor Hope Koch teaches classes on AI at Baylor University, and also sits on the board of directors for First National Bank Texas, a $4.4 billion subsidiary of First Community Bancshares, based in Killeen, Texas. While Koch encourages bankers to embrace AI, she also understands their hesitancy. “We all kind of feel like AI is moving pretty quick, but there are lots of guardrails banks have to think about before they jump right in,” she says.
Those guardrails come in the form of regulations. But Rudzewick says those are still taking shape when it comes to AI, and bankers don’t know exactly what they will look like down the road. “My concern is that when we start to talk to our vendors and they’re utilizing some aspect of AI, we don’t really know what level they’re at with that,” he says. “And our regulators are coming to us and saying, ‘You’re not dealing with AI, are you?’ And we can’t exactly say, ‘No.’ We’re telling them, ‘Yes, we’re trying to figure it out.’”
Solutions Are Scattered
Bankers have no shortage of options when it comes to AI solutions. Hundreds of fintech companies are offering various AI products and services — some of which were showing off their wares at the Bank C-Suite Summit. Major core providers are also integrating AI solutions into their platforms.
But for bank executives who want to push their institutions forward with AI, there isn’t one solution that does everything, says Lydia Ramirez, chief operating officer and executive vice president at Five Star Bank, a subsidiary of $5 billion Five Star Bancorp based in Rancho Cordova, California. She says her bank is using basic versions of AI at this point, but is ready to now push AI out to its fullest extent. “I haven’t found a vendor that says, ‘I have done this for a specific financial institution, and they have now created XYZ automation or XYZ level of efficiency,’” Ramirez says.
Many AI solutions being offered to banks are very targeted. One example discussed during a Bank C-Suite Summit breakout session is an AI search function developed specifically for bank websites, so customers can search for information within the website.
Rudzewick says not only are the vendors offering very specialized tools, the sheer number of AI providers is growing exponentially. “You go to a conference now, and you don’t even recognize the vendors’ names,” he says. “And every time you go to another conference, there’s a whole different set of vendors.”
Ramirez says she is still waiting for larger providers with proven track records and enough money to do proper research and development on AI to come up with more widespread solutions.
But the large core providers are working on adding solutions continuously, said Danelle Hawig, senior vice president for ICI Consulting, during a breakout session. She gave a presentation on the ways Fiserv, FIS and Jack Henry & Associates are integrating AI into their platforms. She believes banks don’t need to be in a rush to implement every new AI solution.
“If a bank is looking to be more immediate with their AI strategy, there are several fintechs that are available out there to look to integrate into those core systems today,” Hawig says. “But I don’t think it’s dangerous to wait for the core, because the core is probably going to be the most solid integration you’re ever going to get.”
The Future Is Now
But many banks are not waiting on AI implementation. And some are truly pushing the envelope.
Customers Bank, a subsidiary of $25.8 billion Customers Bancorp, based in West Reading, Pennsylvania, last week allowed an AI agent created in the likeness of its CEO to conduct the first 30 minutes of an earnings call.
Christopher Sanger, managing director of financial Institutions at Cantor Fitzgerald, talked on stage at the event about the ways AI can be leveraged as a tool in bank succession planning. “Twenty-five percent of bank C-Suite [executives] are at retirement age,” he said. “So, there are going to be a whole lot of successors chosen in the near term. And I think having these AI tools can actually help you choose and train your successors.”
Other experts at the conference said banks that don’t have the personnel that will allow them to innovate through the use of AI tools must look to hire more young professionals. Kirk Coleman, chief business officer for Q2, said he can attest to the value of that. “I’m thinking of a young lady who’s on our RFP [requests for proposals] team. Her job was writing RFPs, and she’s embraced AI to basically automate that process entirely,” he said on stage. “And so, she was so good at it, we sort of said, ‘Hey, I’ll bet you can figure out how to do that in other places.’”
Professor Koch believes there are a lot of uses for AI that bankers can explore and experiment with, but doing nothing is not an option. “We can feel like it’s unfair, but if we don’t get involved, we’re really going to be left behind,” she says.
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