Financial institutions have long treated employee communications as something to archive for regulators. During the Smarsh EDGE event, that archive was recast as a source of business intelligence. Artificial intelligence can now analyze a year of email, messages and AI-prompt traffic and turn it into business context. The catch is that AI is now one of the channels that must be captured, including agents communicating with other agents.

The next phase will be defined by governance built into the foundation rather than bolted on. Customers are building their own agents outside compliance platforms and accessing that data through Model Context Protocol servers. Regulations remain technology-agnostic, however, and financial institutions remain liable for their agents’ actions. A study recently released by Smarsh Inc. found that only 26% of enterprises say their governance frameworks are keeping pace with AI deployment, even as AI in financial services moves beyond pilots.

“I think that move from system of record to system of engagement to system of intent, it’s really won or lost in one battleground, and that is data,” said Gemma Allen (pictured, left), host at theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. “Data is a huge moat for companies in 2026.”