How AI-driven modalities will reshape digital banking interactions

Throughout history, technological leaps have redefined how we interact with devices. From analog controls to desktop computing, and from mobile-first to app-centric, each shift has transformed user experiences and opened new doors for innovation. The release of the iPhone in 2007, for example, gave rise to a thriving app economy and forever changed how we use and interact with technology.

Today, we’re experiencing a similar paradigm shift, driven by the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative AI (gen AI), which is reshaping the potential for user interaction, including in financial services. This next phase of technological evolution signals a future where conversational, agentic and voice-based AI may transcend mobile-first paradigms, offering new ways to access information and perform tasks.

The journey through modalities: Analog to mobile to ‘super apps’

The story of user interaction modalities spans decades and showcases how each phase of technological progress has reshaped industries and everyday life. In the 1980s, personal computers with graphical user interfaces (GUIs) introduced millions to accessible technology. By the 2000s, internet-connected desktops redefined workplaces and homes worldwide. Then came 2007, when Apple released the iPhone, sparking the mobile-compute revolution. The shift to mobile and touch-based interfaces created an app economy, which grew from just 500 apps in the initial Apple App Store to a burgeoning economy generating well over $1 trillion annually.

With that perspective, many gen AI supporters herald the technology as the next industrial revolution. Just as steam power and electricity redefined productivity, gen AI is reshaping human and machine collaboration. The power of gen AI lies in its ability to process vast amounts of data, generate human-like responses and understand nuanced commands. The release of models like ChatGPT-4, with advanced natural language capabilities, has accelerated this evolution by making conversational, context-aware AI accessible to the masses.

In this new AI revolution, we are not merely interacting with machines; we are collaborating with systems that can think, respond and even anticipate our needs. This profound shift suggests that, like previous industrial revolutions, the gen AI era will redefine sectors across the economy, from personalized retail experiences and banking to intelligent business applications.

The question is not if generative AI will transform industries, but how quickly it will reshape our interactions with technology, much like the iPhone did for mobile computing.

Drilling into mobile-first, app-centric design

The current mobile-first, app-centric model has fueled convenience and created a platform for countless innovations. With over 7 billion smartphones in use worldwide, billions of people now have access to information, services and digital products, driving unprecedented connectivity and digital engagement. Yet, the app ecosystem has limitations, as illustrated by app fatigue, data privacy concerns, and concentrated distribution across only a few brands.

While the mobile-first movement has democratized access, it has also led to a landscape where user experience is strained by a crowded app ecosystem. Gen AI, on the other hand, provides a powerful opportunity to move beyond these constraints, potentially simplifying interactions by reducing the need for screen-based engagement and centralizing user intent through voice, chat, and agentic AI interactions.

The holy grail of app building has long been the highly elusive “super app” model — a single platform that can seamlessly integrate multiple services, from payments and shopping to social interactions and utility functions, all within one interface. This model, popularized by apps like WeChat in China, seeks to become a one-stop digital hub, reducing app fatigue by consolidating functionalities and making the user experience more streamlined. However, for Western markets, where data privacy regulations and consumer preferences differ significantly, building a successful super app presents unique challenges.

Gen AI could be the key to overcoming these barriers, enabling super apps to adapt more intelligently to user needs. By personalizing interactions, proactively offering relevant information, and leveraging natural language processing to predict and fulfill user intent, AI-driven super apps could provide a more seamless, intuitive experience that doesn’t rely solely on traditional app interfaces. This evolution would represent a shift away from merely offering bundled services to truly adaptive, intelligent platforms that anticipate needs, bridging the gap between convenience and personalized, proactive engagement.

Gen AI: Chat-based LLMs vs. agentic models

Gen AI’s impact on user interaction goes beyond simple automation, offering two distinct paths: prompt engineer and agentic engineering models. These systems are particularly promising in business settings, where they can streamline operations and drive productivity.

Prompt engineering: Chat-based models, like ChatGPT-4, facilitate conversational interaction, making it easier for users to complete complex tasks. Chat-based AI is reactive, requiring inputs, otherwise known as prompts, to function effectively, and provide responses that sometimes lack brevity, making it less suited for rapid, task-driven settings.

Agentic engineering: Agentic AI offers greater autonomy, capable of executing tasks independently. In business applications, such models can handle workflows, data analysis, and decision-making, automating repetitive tasks with minimal user input. However, autonomous models demand guardrails to avoid misinterpretation and potential security risks, particularly in environments where AI acts on sensitive data.

The next frontier

There is considerable debate over what modality will ultimately replace the current app-centric interface. However, in my opinion, voice and chat-based interaction will play a major role in defining that modal shift. Over 33% of Americans aged 16–64 report using voice assistants every week and that figure is only going to grow as the quality and efficacy of the voice assistants continue to improve. However, in a voice and chat-driven future, control over the hardware layer will shape the market significantly.

Owning the hardware layer enables companies to control “digital real estate,” a critical advantage as our interactions shift away from screens to voices. Hardware owners, such as Apple, Google and Amazon, will likely centralize voice interactions through proprietary voice assistants, potentially with licenses to integrate external AI models. By owning the hardware, these companies control the main point of access to AI-driven services, while maintaining autonomy to operate across all applications installed on a user’s device.

Imagine a world where, instead of juggling multiple chatbots siloed within countless apps, you simply interact with a single, native chatbot on your device — achieving a seamless level of integration akin to super-apps. This is the future that may exist if hardware providers, with integrated AI systems, can effectively serve as centralized conduits that communicate and act on behalf of users across applications. In this scenario, a voice assistant embedded within the device might have the capability to access and operate all user applications, seamlessly handling tasks from scheduling meetings to ordering groceries — provided users have granted the necessary permissions.

Implications for the future of banking

Banking, one of the most highly regulated sectors, is not immune to these technological shifts. In a world where voice or chat-enabled systems become the primary interaction point for consumers, traditional online and mobile banking experiences may face a risk of disintermediation. The scenario where an integrated assistant, like Apple’s Siri or Google Assistant, can provide real-time account balances, initiate wire transfers, or even offer financial advice represents both an opportunity and a challenge.

In this future, much of banking’s value lies in the connectivity and integration to AI-powered assistants, rather than the quality of the mobile banking application. Banks will need to evolve beyond their traditional core offerings — loans, deposits and payments — by providing more value-added services to stay competitive and differentiate themselves in the market. For instance, an AI-powered assistant with access to a user’s financial data could autonomously monitor spending, alerting the user to unusual activity, automatically shifting funds to optimize interest, or even conducting tax-efficient rebalancing — all without requiring the user to open a banking app.

This shift necessitates a strategy focused on integration and connectivity with the hardware providers who own and control the primary user interface. This is also likely to necessitate an evolving compliance framework that will allow such seamless data flow between financial institutions and third-party AI interfaces without compromising security or regulatory compliance.

Who owns the future?

Gen AI is more than a technological advancement; it is a force reshaping industries, much like the industrial revolutions that preceded it. From redefining how we access and control applications to challenging the centrality of the app ecosystem, generative AI is forging a new path where conversational, agentic, and voice-driven interactions are set to become the norm.

The companies that wind up owning the hardware layer stand to control this next evolution.

The future belongs to those who can bridge the gap between AI-driven capabilities and user convenience, creating a digital experience that feels as intuitive as speaking, as natural as asking a question and as powerful as the technology that fuels it.

Jake Fuchs helps lead the investment team at BankTech Ventures.