UBS ranks sixth worldwide in the Evident AI Index 2026, a ranking that measures banks' maturity in artificial intelligence. According to Evident Insights, the platform that publishes the index, the Swiss bank remains the leader among European institutions for the fourth year running. It is also the only European institution in the top 10, reports Fintechnews Switzerland.

What Evident's index measures

Evident Insights tracks the adoption of AI in financial services. Its index, launched in 2023, aims to be a global benchmark for AI maturity in finance. It assesses four areas: AI talent, innovation, leadership and transparency. In practice, it relies on indicators such as employee skills and development, research and patents, senior management's positioning and the responsible use of AI.

Since 2023, UBS has fluctuated between fifth and seventh place. According to the study, its position this year comes down to two factors: training for its entire workforce and the deployment of AI at scale across several functions.

This ranking should be read for what it is. The index compares banks on the basis of criteria defined by Evident, focused on capabilities and organisation. It does not directly measure how profitable AI is for each institution. Moreover, several of the figures cited below come from the banks themselves, with no independent verification mentioned in the source.

UBS and artificial intelligence: teams and training

According to the research, UBS has the sixth-largest specialised AI team in the world and the largest in Europe. The bank retained a large share of Credit Suisse's AI talent during the integration.

Alongside these specialists, UBS is training its staff extensively. Since 2024, more than 49,000 employees have enrolled in online AI courses, and more than 38,000 have completed learning paths dedicated to the subject. By July 2026, more than 21,000 people, or 28% of the workforce, had completed "UBS AI Citizen". This internal programme covers the basics of AI, concrete use cases, productivity at work and the responsible use of tools. In addition, more than 96% of managers had completed the first stages of "AI Enabler", a programme that helps them integrate AI into teamwork and people management.

Tools already in production

In 2025, UBS launched more than 300 AI use cases across its businesses. In economic and financial research, the Global Research tools started with simple functions, such as suggesting headlines and hooks for e-mails. They have been used more than 15,000 times and have increased e-mail open rates by 16%. The toolbox has since expanded and now serves nearly 1,000 research professionals worldwide. Among these tools, CoAuthor, used more than 30,000 times, helps make texts clearer and more consistent.

For its legal department, UBS uses Harvey, a platform that drafts, summarises and reviews complex legal documents using models trained on legal language. According to the bank, the efficiency gains save at least $1 million. Harvey would also make it possible to bring in-house legal work previously outsourced, for additional savings of $1 million in 2026. These are UBS's own statements.

AI in banking: a stable top 10, with little European presence

The 2026 edition of the index shows acceleration across the whole sector. Banks' average score jumped by 26%, or 9.6 points, year on year. This increase is almost three times the moving average observed between 2023 and 2025.

The top of the table changes little. All the banks in this year's top 10 had already featured in it at least once, and six have been there every year since 2023. The top three places still go to JP Morgan Chase, Capital One and the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). In this leading group, UBS is the only European bank: the continent's other institutions rank lower.

According to the study, the ten leading banks also report more numerous and more robust results. They account for 25% of use cases accompanied by an impact announcement. But they make up 34% of those documenting operational metrics and 50% of those reporting a direct financial outcome.

And in Swiss companies?

Outside the banking sector, AI is also gaining ground in Switzerland. An EY survey of more than 600 people working in companies across the country shows that 89% of them use AI on a daily basis. Access is mainly through integrated tools such as Microsoft Copilot or Gemini in Google Workspace (70%), while specialised or proprietary solutions are gaining ground (33%).

However, AI is still rarely at the heart of strategy. Only 9% of respondents say it has already transformed their company's business model, while 63% have deployed solutions or are running pilot projects. The case of UBS illustrates what sets the frontrunners apart: less access to tools than their integration into business lines and training at scale.

Sources