M&T Bank has expanded its enterprise artificial intelligence capabilities following a years-long technology transformation that reduced technical debt and modernized its data foundation. The Buffalo-based bank, which spent over $1.2 billion on technology in 2025, now deploys AI copilots to more than 15,000 employees and has integrated predictive AI into its commercial lending operations at enterprise scale .
The bank’s technology overhaul began in 2018 when Michael Wisler joined as chief information officer and worked to reduce reliance on outside contractors, invest in in-house IT talent, and build more resilient systems . Today, more than 80 percent of M&T’s tech and data teams work directly for the bank, including at technology centers in Buffalo and Wilmington . M&T employs 2,000 technologists across more than 300 teams .
AI Deployment and Partnerships
M&T partnered with RDC.AI in 2025 to deploy an agentic and predictive intelligence platform for commercial credit monitoring, becoming the first North American bank to implement the platform at enterprise scale . The system now supports over 1,200 relationship managers and credit associates, delivering a 60 percent reduction in false positives, a 70 percent reduction in manual effort, and a fourfold improvement in alert accuracy .
Peter D’Arcy, Head of Commercial Banking at M&T, said the partnership has strengthened the bank’s credit monitoring capabilities. ‘By embedding more timely, data-driven insight into our workflows, we are better positioned to support our clients with informed, forward-looking guidance,’ D’Arcy said . The partnership received the Editor’s Choice award at the 2026 Banking Tech Awards USA .
For generative AI applications, the bank turned to Microsoft Copilot due to its existing relationship with the tech giant and its ability to access the bank’s Microsoft 365 suite . Chief Data Officer Andrew Foster said Microsoft allowed M&T to approach AI in a way that supported education and security. The bank has deployed Copilot to 17,000 people across functions including call centers and coding .
Leadership and Infrastructure
In August 2026, M&T appointed Kalyana Bedhu, a former Fannie Mae AI and machine learning leader and Microsoft veteran, as its new Head of AI Engineering . Bedhu will oversee AI engineering, platforms, architecture, and governance capabilities across the bank . ‘Excited to join a team with a strong legacy, firing on all cylinders to modernize and build what’s next,’ Bedhu wrote on LinkedIn. He added, ‘Looking forward to helping turn the possibilities of AI into meaningful impact for M&T and our customers’ .
Wisler, now Senior Executive Vice President for Technology and Operations, said the bank has focused on building strong engineering foundations before scaling AI. ‘You can’t win in AI if you don’t know where your data is, if you can’t trust your data, if it’s not democratized and available to everyone,’ Wisler told Fast Company .
M&T continues to explore options for building AI solutions in-house and harnessing tools from outside vendors, including AI features of general-purpose enterprise platforms and technology specifically built for the needs of banks . The bank’s 2026 priorities include using AI and automation to boost productivity, with a pilot program to speed up customer service call resolution .
