BMO Financial Group: Bridging Intelligence—Measuring How Well Humans and AI Interact | Opinion

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept; it’s now at the core of how financial institutions and numerous other industries operate. From customer service chatbots to advanced fraud detection, AI is transforming banking every day. But as AI becomes more deeply integrated, how do we know how well humans and AI are truly working together?

BMO Financial Group is exploring a clear, data-driven way to answer this question and laying the foundation for responsibly managing the future of human-AI partnerships as AI becomes an even bigger part of the financial ecosystem.

Why This Matters for the Future: Performance, Trust, and Transformation

The next phase of AI isn’t just about faster or smarter technology; it’s about unlocking the full potential of human and AI collaboration. Banks need to move quickly to adopt responsible AI practices and strong leadership to make sure AI creates real, positive change safely and ethically.

AI should do more than automate tasks; it should enhance human skills, making employees more effective and improve customer experiences.

This work also tackles some of the toughest challenges facing the financial industry: changing job roles, rising customer expectations, and the need for faster, better decisions, all while staying ethical and compliant. A recent Microsoft study showed that while 82 percent of leaders plan to increase AI use in the next year or so, 80 percent of employees already feel overwhelmed by fragmented work. Thoughtfully designed human-AI collaboration offers a promising way to boost productivity and support employee well-being.

Our Vision: Measuring How Humans and AI Work Together

To get this right, we must measure what really matters. That is why we are developing a framework to measure and manage how humans and AI interact. This helps turn abstract ideas about AI into clear, actionable steps that hold us accountable.

Our framework is built on three key areas:

1. User Experience—We want to understand how employees interact with AI, whether by voice, text, or screen, and how those interactions feel. Are they confident using AI? Frustrated? Empowered? Inspired by how we measure and improve client service, we’re exploring an AI net promoter score to measure these sentiments directly from employees.

2. Performance—AI must deliver real results. We measure how human-AI teamwork affects business outcomes using tools like touchpoint analysis to see where AI helps in employees’ work, and outcome attribution scores to figure out whether improvements come from humans, AI, or both together.

3. Trust and Responsibility—Trust is key to adopting AI widely. Building on responsible AI principles, we’re developing ways to measure how much control employees feel they have over AI and how often they override AI recommendations—important signs of a healthy human-AI partnership.

From Framework to Industry Leadership

Our work is just getting started but one thing is clear: AI can’t be managed as isolated technology. As it becomes part of everyday work, banks must build systems that are transparent, fair, accountable, and responsible. Human-AI collaboration isn’t just a tech upgrade; it’s a whole new way of working. Success depends on measuring the complex interactions between people and AI, understanding human behavior, and making sure everyone is treated fairly.

BMO’s framework is a first step, a call to action for the entire financial sector. We must come together to share standards, have open conversations, and set benchmarks that ensure AI delivers on its promise: driving real innovation with humans, not just around them.

The future of finance will be shaped by those who lead in defining and measuring the human-AI relationship. BMO is starting that conversation. Now, we invite others to join us.

Kristin Milchanowski is chief AI and data officer at BMO Financial Group.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.