At Moody’s, we’ve embraced what it means to be an early adopter of advanced and emerging technologies, as highlighted in a recent publication from Harvard Business Review. Backed by more than a century of experience, we’re pushing for an acceleration of change within our organization to keep up with the unprecedented pace of progress in the generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) ecosystem.
By rapidly integrating new AI capabilities — such as PDF parsing, speech-to-text, and image analysis — and partnering with leading technology providers like Microsoft to leverage Azure’s cloud infrastructure and secure access to OpenAI models, we’re driving innovation and shaping the future of our industry.
Redefining efficiency through AI leadership
Moody’s ability to maintain its strong market position for over 115 years centers on our commitment to evolving with the times — we see GenAI, and the next frontier of Agentic AI, as a transformative opportunity to design new, ground-breaking solutions, improve our customer experience, and optimize workflows.
Over the last decade, we’ve harnessed the power of AI and machine learning to build advanced credit risk models and automated data extraction solutions that reduce manual effort and increase efficiency. Our focus remains on delivering smarter, faster, and more effective tools that empower our customers and redefine possibilities in financial services.
Our guiding principles for success
In the early days of GenAI, standing still actually posed a far higher risk to the company’s future than aggressively adopting a highly imperfect technology. CEO Rob Fauber described inaction as the greatest threat to Moody’s business, and AI as a critical opportunity that could have pronounced benefits — thus calling upon our 14,000 innovators to codrive the critical initiative of crafting an AI roadmap.
Instead of cautious experimentation, we created an environment where innovation could thrive across the organization by launching a company-wide cultural overhaul grounded in three core principles:
- Make everyone an innovator.
- Build on new ideas, don’t dismiss them.
- Deliver real business impact.
These principles marked a shift in how transformation is viewed at Moody’s — as a continuous process of adaptation.
Pioneering new frontiers in Agentic AI: The next wave of innovation at Moody’s
Well ahead of industry buzz about agentic workflows, we’ve been developing AI-driven agents capable of generating comprehensive financial risk reports — tasks that typically take experienced analysts a week — in just an hour. Combining the power of Agentic AI with Moody’s vast datasets, we’re working on creating automated solutions that serve as “digital co-workers” for data gathering, research, and analysis.
By collaborating closely to understand our customers unique needs, we’re developing a fist-of-its kind offering to deliver fully automated processes that integrate expert analysis with quantitative data from Moody’s eight-pillar data estate and customers’ proprietary data. The result: a holistic view tailored to your preferred format with reduced resource strain and a consistently high level of quality.
How does GenAI differ from Agentic AI?
Agentic AI is the next evolution of GenAI capabilities, moving from passive assistance to active agency. While GenAI generates an answer to a specific question, Agentic AI works as a “digital coworker” automating tasks and processes that previously took days to complete — presenting a whole host of new opportunities.
With agentic workflows, the following steps can be fully automated with reports and other deliverables generated with a single click:
- Source and collect all necessary documents and data
- Identify trends, risks, and opportunities
- Generate views and opinions
- Write narratives
- Create charts and visuals (e.g., peer comparisons)
- Translate and adjust formats
From generative AI to agentic coworkers
As the next phase in Moody’s ongoing innovation journey, we’re redefining efficiency, quality-consistency, and budget with our agentic workflows for high-impact teams across the financial services industry. Users of our tools, platforms, and software will be able to call upon a "digital coworker" powered by Moody’s GenAI Agents to automate credit memos, generate client-tailored reports, and deliver insightful narratives.
For example, agentic workflows will help bankers and asset managers streamline and optimize:
Credit research and memo automation: By extracting and integrating diverse data and research from across Moody’s data estate and internal sources into concise, clear credit memos and reports.
Monitoring for corporate and commercial lending: By transforming portfolio and sector analysis with a Gen-AI event monitoring console that delivers early warnings, multi-level insights, and personalized alerts.
Likewise, these “digital co-workers” can help bankers create pitchbooks by gathering sector-level rating insights and conducting deep dives into both rated and unrated companies. They can also generate a fixed-income investment memo and provide a comprehensive investment recommendation by collecting issuance data, rating evaluations, and investment insight.
Key takeaways
In the financial services industry, adoption is imperative to keeping pace with peers and maintaining a competitive advantage. As a leader in delivering cutting-edge solutions with a long history of first-to-market innovations, Moody’s offers valuable lessons for how companies can work effectively with rapidly evolving technologies:
Waiting or inaction has a price
Decentralized innovation works
Change is constant
Strategic partnerships matter
Culture drives adoption
With a strong focus on fostering company-wide innovation driven from the ground up, Moody’s is transforming its legacy into a bold vision for the future. By applying these foundational lessons, guiding principles, and actionable insights, you can position your organization to thrive in the Gen-AI-first era.
Want to learn more?
Interested in learning more about how Moody’s is pioneering new horizons in financial technology? Discover how we’re leveraging GenAI and exploring the transformative potential of Agentic AI in the full Harvard Business Review article below.