Northern Trust and Microsoft Agent Cuts Client-Onboarding Preparation to Three Days

Northern Trust deployed a Microsoft AI agent to standardize historical transaction data during client onboarding. The workflow previously required roughly two and a half weeks of preparation. With the agent, that timeline dropped to three days.

The automation targets a bounded, data-intensive process where output can be checked against clear rules. By converting inconsistent historical records into a uniform format, the agent removes manual rework that consumed most of the original preparation time. The result is a measurable reduction in turnaround without changing the core onboarding steps that follow data standardization.

The case demonstrates concrete value from applying an AI agent to a tightly scoped operational workflow. For teams in financial services and insurance, where client onboarding often depends on clean historical data, the three-day figure provides a reference point for similar automation efforts.