• Charlie Scharf said AI is both a threat to some jobs and a creator of new opportunities
• Wells Fargo has provided basic AI tools to most employees
• The bank is evaluating AI’s impact on operations, customers, and lending risk
• Auditing, legal work, testing, contracts, and credit analysis are key AI use cases
• Scharf expects AI to improve efficiency and reduce expenses over time
• Wells Fargo plans to continue hiring AI specialists and technology talent
• Employee retraining will be critical as workforce needs evolve
• The CEO said managing the skills mismatch will be one of the biggest challenges facing the industry

The debate over whether artificial intelligence will destroy jobs or create them misses a more complicated reality, according to Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf, who says both outcomes are already unfolding simultaneously inside the banking industry.

Speaking at a Bernstein investor conference, Scharf challenged what he described as increasingly polarized views surrounding AI’s impact on employment.

“I find it very surprising when really smart people take one side or the other,” Scharf said. “They sit there and they say, ‘it’s not a threat to employment,’ or they sit there and say, ‘it’s a huge threat to employment.’”

For Scharf, the evidence emerging from Wells Fargo’s own experience suggests the answer lies somewhere in the middle.

“It’s so obvious to me, looking at the way we’re using AI inside the company, it is both of those things,” he said. “The risk is that they’re not totally aligned, in terms of the same people and the timing of it.”

The comments come as large financial institutions continue accelerating investments in artificial intelligence technologies in pursuit of lower costs, greater productivity, and improved customer experiences.

According to Scharf, most Wells Fargo employees have already been given access to basic AI tools.

Executives are now evaluating how the technology can be deployed more broadly across the organization to improve efficiency while enhancing products and services.

The bank is also examining how AI may affect its customers and lending portfolio.

“We’re very actively thinking about what that means for the risk that we take, and also where we should be doing more, not just where we should be doing less,” Scharf said.

While operational efficiencies are an important focus, the CEO suggested that the most significant questions extend beyond cost reduction.

“The most complicated” issue, he said, is understanding how artificial intelligence could fundamentally reshape Wells Fargo’s business model and determining whether those changes ultimately benefit or challenge the institution.

Still, Scharf acknowledged that AI-driven productivity gains are already becoming visible.

“We know that, we see that, we’re planning for it every step of the way,” he said.

Among the areas where Wells Fargo expects AI to improve performance are auditing, testing, legal functions, contract reviews, patent filings, investment banking pitchbooks, and credit memorandum preparation.

Such applications are increasingly common across the banking sector as institutions seek to automate repetitive and labor-intensive processes.

However, Scharf cautioned that the ultimate financial benefit remains uncertain because competitors are pursuing similar strategies.

“How much of that actually results in pure margin or return expansion is to be seen,” he said.

Nevertheless, he described AI as “a net positive” for the bank’s future expense structure.

Importantly, Scharf rejected the notion that automation eliminates the need for people altogether.

The bank expects to continue hiring employees with specialized technical skills, including professionals capable of building AI models and others who can leverage emerging technologies to better serve customers.

“People don’t go away in this,” he said.

The challenge, he argued, is managing the transition between declining demand for some skills and rising demand for others.

“We’ve got this mismatch, that, as a country, we’re going to have to deal with,” Scharf said.

To address that challenge, Wells Fargo is actively considering employee retraining and workforce development initiatives designed to help workers adapt to changing job requirements.

The discussion comes against a backdrop of significant transformation at Wells Fargo itself.

Since becoming CEO in late 2019, Scharf has overseen a major restructuring effort aimed at improving efficiency and strengthening operations following the bank’s fake-accounts scandal and years of heightened regulatory scrutiny.

The bank’s asset cap, imposed by regulators in 2018, was finally lifted in June 2025 after seven years.

During that period, Wells Fargo reduced headcount from approximately 275,000 employees to just over 200,000, exited several business lines, and simplified internal processes.

According to Scharf, the bank has removed roughly $15 billion in expenses while simultaneously investing approximately $9 billion into growth initiatives, including hiring bankers and expanding marketing efforts.

Those changes, he argued, have improved performance while enhancing customer service.

“We’re just eliminating all of the wasteful things that have happened inside the company,” Scharf said.

Despite the substantial progress already made, Scharf indicated that Wells Fargo’s transformation is far from complete.

“We want to do as much through normal attrition as we can,” he said. “We’re far from done. Not even close.”

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded across banking operations, Scharf’s comments suggest the industry’s future may be defined less by job destruction than by how successfully institutions manage the transition toward new skills, new roles, and new ways of working.