The Bank of England and FCA published their 2026 AI survey on 26 October, confirming the 86% adoption figure previewed in the FCA’s 19 October speech. Of 196 respondents, 105 completed the full survey and the remainder a shorter form. Changes in respondents and questions limit direct comparisons with 2024.[3][1]
Deployment and control findings
| Measure | Reported result | Population or meaning |
|---|---|---|
| AI adoption | 86% | Full and short-form respondents combinedSource 3 |
| Agent decision support | 80% | Full survey; people decide and executeSource 3 |
| Constrained agent execution | 46% | Acts within predefined limits and rulesSource 3 |
| Conditional agent autonomy | 22% | Human approval required for certain actionsSource 3 |
| Broad agent autonomy | 2% | Full survey; limited real-time human involvementSource 3 |
| Third-party systems | 39% | Share of reported AI systemsSource 3 |
| Third-party high-materiality systems | 53% | Share of high-materiality systemsSource 3 |
The trade-and-execution category reports 7% using agents for decision support, 5% with constrained execution, 1% with conditional autonomy and 0% with broad autonomy. These findings distinguish adoption of AI from delegation of order execution.[3]
The FCA’s accompanying examples cover consumer outcomes, senior responsibility, lifecycle monitoring and operational resilience under existing obligations. They include escalation and fallback arrangements, supplier oversight and controls that evolve when a model changes. The examples create no new requirements, and outsourcing technology does not transfer the regulated firm’s accountability.[2]
The new survey supplies deployment data alongside the FCA’s earlier governance work. FXBrokers’ coverage of the 19 October speech and practice review examines accountable deployment, incident reporting and meaningful human control.
Sources & further reading
- Building the future of finance in the age of AI — Jessica Rusu speech Financial Conduct Authority · 19 Oct 2026 · Accessed 26 Oct 2026
- AI in financial services: good practice and areas for improvement Financial Conduct Authority · 19 Oct 2026 · Accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Artificial intelligence in UK financial services — 2026 Bank of England and FCA · 26 Oct 2026 · Accessed 26 Oct 2026