Barclays expands Claude use to 50% of developers by end of 2026

The bank is already using Claude in specific areas. Its Colleague Knowledge Assistant, live since 2025, uses retrieval-augmented generation to help over 16,000 UK employees find information for more than 20 million retail customers. This tool has handled over one million searches. In Global Markets, Claude models process approximately 120,000 emails daily, classifying and enriching them to streamline client enquiry management.

Barclays executives, including Group Co-Chief Operating Officers Anne Marie Darling and Craig Bright, emphasized that the expansion focuses on responsible deployment within a secure, governed environment. Anthropic’s Chief Commercial Officer, Paul Smith, described the milestone as significant for the UK, noting that the bank holds AI to a high standard with strong security and oversight.