JPMorgan draws limits on outside AI agents

JPMorgan currently blocks external agents from operating on behalf of retail customers.[1] The bank says it does not allow third parties to access accounts by using customers’ banking credentials to log in for them.[1] At the same time, AI agents can obtain some Chase account data, including balances, in read-only mode through Plaid or another connector if users provide their credentials.[1] Under the bank’s current restrictions, outside agents cannot send money or pay bills from Chase accounts.[1] For teams assessing agent access, the practical distinction is between data visibility and permission to initiate transactions.

JPMorgan has not set a timeline for safeguards that would allow outside agents to interact directly with customer accounts.[1] Dimon said the bank is neither for nor against agents and uses them for customers.[2] He also said JPMorgan uses AI agents internally and plans to deploy them in customer-facing applications.[1] The bank is monitoring how personal agents develop and what it may offer in response, according to CFO Jeremy Barnum.[2] That leaves a gap between the bank’s stated use of agents and the permissions it currently gives outside agents.

Barnum said JPMorgan recently began a targeted pilot of Smart Cash, a tool intended to predict cash flow and move funds to maximize yield.[1] He said it had been live for the previous couple of weeks and remained in a very early, targeted pilot.[2] Barnum also identified yield-seeking flows as one of the factors involved.[2] The pilot is not evidence that outside agents can move money from customer accounts: the bank’s current restrictions bar those agents from sending money or paying bills.[1] CNBC placed JPMorgan’s policy amid technology companies’ rollout of autonomous assistants, including products from Meta.[1]