Lloyds Banking Group has marked a major milestone in its strategic digital transformation by partnering with Google Cloud to harness advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and data science capabilities. This collaboration is enhancing both customer and colleague experiences while opening the door to new innovations in personalised financial services.
Powering Financial Decisions Through Cloud and AI
In line with its purpose to Help Britain Prosper, Lloyds Banking Group is investing in AI and cloud technology to support customers in making more informed financial decisions. A core element of this initiative is the development of a next-generation machine learning (ML) and generative AI (genAI) platform built on Google Cloud’s Vertex AI.
The move is already delivering impact across the organisation, with more than 300 data scientists and AI engineers now using the platform to deploy AI solutions at scale and speed.
Seamless Migration of Machine Learning Capabilities
As part of this shift, Lloyds Banking Group transitioned 15 modelling systems—containing hundreds of individual models—from its on-premise infrastructure to the cloud. This transition has not only increased efficiency but also helped the Group cut down 27 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, contributing to its sustainability goals.
The migration has also unlocked access to a broader suite of AI tools and capabilities across various business units. Among the breakthroughs is a new algorithm that significantly streamlines mortgage processing by reducing income verification from several days to just seconds.
These efforts reflect the Group’s ongoing commitment to empowering customers and businesses throughout the UK through smarter, faster, and more intuitive digital services.
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Staying Ahead of Rapidly Evolving AI Landscape
With AI technologies advancing at an unprecedented pace, Lloyds Banking Group recognised the need for a dynamic, scalable platform that could support diverse tools, including open-source models. Vertex AI offered the ideal solution—combining flexibility, security, and robust integration capabilities.
Since launching the new platform, Lloyds has activated over 80 machine learning use cases and deployed 18 generative AI systems across its operations. An additional 12 genAI systems are expected to go live by the end of June.
The Group is also working on an innovative Agentic AI system—developed in collaboration with Google Cloud—that will redefine how customers interact with the bank. The prototype is currently in testing and is slated for public rollout later this year.
Leadership Insights
Ranil Boteju, Group Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “Moving to Vertex AI has been transformative for us as a Group, providing us with the scalability and reliability to innovate with AI at pace. Vertex AI is enabling data scientists and AI developers across the Group to access genAI solutions with consistent guardrails, as well as giving them the flexibility to use Large Language Models from third parties and open-source providers, as well as Google’s Gemini model.”
Tara Brady, Google Cloud, added: “With Google Cloud‘s Vertex AI platform, Lloyds Banking Group can deploy powerful machine learning models faster, so that it can action transaction insights more quickly. This partnership demonstrates how cloud-powered AI innovation can drive unique, personalised experiences, bringing the bank even closer to its customers.”