AI Agents Are Accessing U.S. Bank Accounts Without Their Approval. Lenders Are Pushing Back.

Banks are struggling to distinguish between legitimate customer activity, authorized software and agents operating outside their intended instructions, the report said. (Credit: Getty Images)

Major U.S. banks are detecting third-party artificial intelligence agents accessing customer accounts without bank authorization, with some automated tools appearing to act independently of their users' instructions, according to a new report.

Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are among the institutions responding to the activity, which has raised concerns about customer security and the ability of banks to monitor increasingly sophisticated software.