In a recent interview, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan stated that the substantial impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the US economy is gradually emerging, with related investments already accumulating this year and its contribution to economic growth expected to further amplify in the coming years.
AI investment continues to accumulate, and its influence is gradually expanding.
Monihan pointed out that AI-related investments have been accumulating steadily this year, not overnight, but gradually. He stated that these investments may become a more significant driver of economic growth next year and beyond.
He emphasized that although economic growth is not entirely driven by AI, the "marginal impact" of AI on the overall economy is already quite significant and substantial.
The outlook for 2026 is positive, with US economic growth projected at 2.4%.
When discussing the overall U.S. economic outlook, Monihan pointed out that Bank of America's economic outlook for next year is biased towards positivity. According to Bank of America's forecast, the U.S. economic growth rate is expected to reach 2.4% next year, higher than the level of about 2% in 2025.
Regarding the job market, Monihan said that there are indeed some signs of weakening in the labor market, but he believes that this is more like a transitional period for the job market to return to normal rather than a structural deterioration.
The AI industry is attracting huge investments, raising concerns about a bubble.
With high market expectations for the future of AI, several AI companies, including OpenAI, have continued to attract billions of dollars in funding in recent months.
However, some tech industry executives have also issued warnings. For example, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos once described the AI investment boom as an "industrial bubble," which may lead to some investment losses in the short term, but will still contribute to overall social development in the long term.
The AI boom will have a limited impact on the economy; Bank of America will manage risk effectively.
Regarding the possibility of the AI industry overheating or even experiencing a correction, Monihan stated that Bank of America's assessment concluded that the related risks would have a relatively limited impact on the overall economy.
He pointed out that even if the AI industry undergoes adjustments, the impact on consumers and the job market may not be too severe because the AI industry is currently concentrated in a few companies and has not spread to all industries.
From a bank lending perspective, Monihan emphasized that Bank of America will pay special attention to the leverage of AI projects and whether the actual users of data centers have sufficiently long-term and stable contractual commitments to ensure that risks are within a controllable range.
AI assistants have been implemented to drive operational upgrades through assistive intelligence.
In addition to monitoring external markets, Bank of America itself has long applied AI to its daily operations. Monihan stated that the bank launched its AI assistant "Erica" in 2018, and its functions have since been greatly expanded. The number of questions Erica can answer has grown from approximately 200 initially to 700.
Monihan concluded by noting that Bank of America will continue to incorporate more automation and AI technologies in the future. However, they prefer to call it "Augmented Intelligence," meaning that humans work in conjunction with AI, rather than completely replacing human resources. He stated that this application model will gradually impact all aspects of the bank's operations, improving employee efficiency and service quality.
This article, titled "Bank of America CEO: 2026 Economic Outlook Lean Towards Positive, AI Investment as Key Supporting Momentum," first appeared on ABMedia, a ABMedia .
