Why US banks are blocking AI agents from accessing customer accounts

Major US banks have been blocking third-party artificial intelligence (AI) agents from accessing customer accounts and carrying out transactions, as concerns grow over the risks posed by autonomous AI tools, two people familiar with the situation told Reuters.Banks are increasingly wary of AI agents that can perform tasks on behalf of users, particularly when the technology interacts with financial accounts and could take actions beyond a customer's instructions.An Axios report on Thursday said major lenders had detected unauthorised third-party AI agents operating within customer accounts, with some attempting to take actions that appeared to be independent of user instructions.