JPMorgan Chase pushes AI use for engineers, links performance ratings to productivity

JPMorgan Chase has set new rules for its software engineers and wants them to use AI more in their daily work. The bank shared new performance goals on its internal website for most developers in its 65,000-member Global Technology team, as per the report by Business Insider. Engineers must now “drive excellence” by using AI and showing better code quality, faster work, and higher productivity.

These new AI-focused goals will officially appear in employee performance targets by the end of March. This is not just a suggestion — it’s becoming a regular topic in manager meetings and company updates. Five engineers told Business Insider, internal dashboards even track whether engineers installed GitHub Copilot and how often they use it. The bank is planning to spend about $20 billion on technology in 2026, which is much higher than many rivals.

AI spending push

This spending is bigger than competitors like Goldman Sachs. Managers are telling engineers that using AI tools should clearly increase their output every quarter. The company is also preparing to test Claude Code from Anthropic, possibly starting in April. Developers already use four large AI models — two from OpenAI and two from Anthropic. The pressure to use AI is not only at JPMorgan — many tech companies are doing the same.

AI performance reviews

Companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, and Salesforce are also using AI usage in performance reviews, as noted by Wall Street Journal. At JPMorgan, engineers who don’t use AI may be viewed as underperforming.The bank is also changing how employees are graded overall. Performance will now depend on two things — “what you achieve” and “how you achieve it.”

New employee grading

Employees will be placed into three categories: “stand out,” “achiever,” and “needs improvement.” Engineers who avoid AI tools may end up in the “needs improvement” category, as cited by Business Insider via TOI. JPMorgan is pushing engineers hard to use AI — and their performance ratings may depend on it.

FAQs

Q1. Why is JPMorgan Chase asking engineers to use AI?

Because the bank wants faster work, better code, and higher productivity from developers.

Q2. Can AI usage affect employee ratings at JPMorgan?

Yes, engineers who don’t use AI tools may be seen as underperforming and get lower ratings.