Entrepreneurship October 1, 2025 0 Comments

Citi’s Bold Move: Why Training Hundreds of Thousands on AI Prompts Is the Game-Changer Nobody Saw Coming

Ever wonder what happens when a banking giant decides that AI training isn’t just a perk, but a firm mandate for 175,000 employees? It’s like telling a room full of seasoned pros, “Hey, you’ve been doing it your way for decades—but trust me, there’s a smarter, faster way now.” Citi just dropped an internal memo that’s shaking things up across all 80 of its locations, highlighting how AI is turning what once took hours into minutes. I mean, who wouldn’t want a shortcut that actually works? As someone who’s watched businesses scramble to keep up with tech leaps, I find this move both smart and inevitable. The challenge? Teaching folks not just to use AI, but to master the art of crafting the right prompts to unlock its true power—because in the end, a brilliant prompt can be just like the perfect question in a client pitch: it reveals opportunity and drives advantage. This isn’t just an update; it’s a frontline glimpse at the future of work in banking… and beyond. LEARN MORE

The bank sent an internal memo to around 175,000 employees this week.

Key Takeaways

Citi is mandating AI training for all of its employees.
The bank’s head of technology and business enablement announced the news in an internal memo.
The memo said the company’s AI turns “work that once took hours into tasks done in minutes.”

Citi is rolling out an AI training program for its 175,000 employees. The training teaches personnel how to work with the bank’s internal AI programs and write prompts that enable efficiency.

Citi sent an internal memo, which was viewed by American Banker, to its entire workforce in all 80 locations, that said AI is “turning work that once took hours into tasks done in minutes” and that incorporating the tools “marks the beginning of a new way of working.”

On LinkedIn, Tim Ryan, head of technology and business enablement at Citi, wrote that the “training is a practical guide to mastering a key skill for the future and unlocking the full potential of AI.

“Just as the right question in a client pitch can reveal clarity and create advantage, a well-crafted prompt can accelerate your work, surface insights and amplify your impact,” the memo said, per American Banker.

A Citi representative told Fortune the training is about “teaching our colleagues the possibilities of great prompting versus basic prompting to generate impactful results.”

Citi said that employees have entered more than 6.5 million prompts in its built-in tools so far this year, according to the memo.

Meanwhile, banks are going all in on AI.

This week, CNBC reported that JPMorgan revealed its AI program that can create an investment banking deck in 30 seconds. AI training at the bank has been a part of mandatory onboarding training for at least a year. Fortune notes that Wells Fargo sent 4,000 employees to Stanford’s Human-Centered AI program.

Key Takeaways

Citi is mandating AI training for all of its employees.
The bank’s head of technology and business enablement announced the news in an internal memo.
The memo said the company’s AI turns “work that once took hours into tasks done in minutes.”

Citi is rolling out an AI training program for its 175,000 employees. The training teaches personnel how to work with the bank’s internal AI programs and write prompts that enable efficiency.

Citi sent an internal memo, which was viewed by American Banker, to its entire workforce in all 80 locations, that said AI is “turning work that once took hours into tasks done in minutes” and that incorporating the tools “marks the beginning of a new way of working.”