Barclays expands Anthropic's Claude across bank operations

Barclays is expanding its collaboration with Anthropic to deploy Claude across its operations, including software development, customer service and internal functions.

Under the plan, Barclays expects Claude Code to reach 50% of its developers by the end of 2026, before extending to most software engineers in 2027. The bank is using the AI system to support software development, modernise older technology platforms and improve operational efficiency across a large, regulated organisation.

The move is part of a broader push to embed AI tools in day-to-day work while maintaining governance, security controls and human oversight. Barclays said responsible deployment remains central as it expands the technology across its global operations.

One existing use is in Barclays UK, where a Colleague Knowledge Assistant helps staff find information while serving retail banking customers. The assistant has been live since 2025 and is used by more than 16,000 colleagues supporting more than 20 million UK retail customers.

The assistant has handled more than one million searches. It uses retrieval-augmented generation to surface information faster for employees, helping shorten customer response times.

Developer rollout

Barclays is also applying Claude more deeply across its technology teams. The AI is being used to help modernise legacy platforms, improve software quality and support engineers working on more complex problems.

"The true measure of any technology is the impact it has on customers, clients, and colleagues, and the outcomes it enables," said Anne Marie Darling, Group Co-Chief Operating Officer, Barclays. "Expanding the use of Claude across Barclays is about more than adopting AI. It is about transforming how work gets done: reimagining processes, enhancing customer and client experiences, and building a simpler, more efficient organization within a secure and well-governed environment. By reducing time spent on routine activities and streamlining decision-making, we can enable colleagues to focus their expertise where it matters most, solving more complex problems, accelerating innovation, and delivering better outcomes for our customers, clients, and business."

Barclays has presented the engineering rollout as part of a broader shift in how it organises its technology functions. Software engineering and cyber security, it said, are both being reshaped by increasingly capable AI systems.

"Software engineering and cyber security are both being reshaped by increasingly capable AI systems," said Craig Bright, Group Co-Chief Operating Officer, Barclays. "We're moving towards AI as an increasingly agentic capability embedded within how we build, test, secure, and operate technology. At Barclays, we're using Claude to help modernize legacy platforms, improve software quality, and allow our technical experts to focus on the most complex challenges. The combination of skilled engineers, cyber specialists, and trusted AI capabilities has the potential to fundamentally improve how technology is developed and managed across large-scale enterprises."

Markets operations

In Barclays' Global Markets business, Claude models are being used to process and manage client inquiries. Teams use the models to classify incoming emails, add information and route requests to operations staff.

The platform processes about 120,000 emails a day, according to Barclays. The bank said this has reduced manual handling and helped colleagues identify and act on relevant information more efficiently.

The expanded arrangement also gives Anthropic a high-profile banking deployment in the UK, where financial institutions are testing AI tools in tightly controlled settings. Large banks have been cautious about use cases involving customer interactions, internal decision-making and sensitive data, making governance and oversight central to adoption.

Anthropic said Barclays had set a high bar for security and supervision as the rollout expanded across the bank. It pointed to current use in customer support and operations, as well as the planned rollout of Claude Code among engineers.

"Our work with Barclays is a significant milestone for us in the UK. Barclays serves millions of customers and clients across the globe, so their standard for AI is high. That's why Barclays is rolling Claude out with strong security and oversight," said Paul Smith, Chief Commercial Officer, Anthropic. "Claude now helps 16,000 Barclays colleagues find answers for customers, sorts 120,000 emails a day, and will be in the hands of most Barclays engineers by 2027. Very few institutions hold AI to such a high standard."