Agentic Artificial Intelligence in Finance: A Comprehensive Survey

TL;DR

This survey explores how agentic AI systems are transforming financial markets through autonomous decision-making, highlighting benefits, challenges, and future research directions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of recent advances, system architectures, applications, and governance issues related to agentic AI in finance.

Findings

Agentic AI can improve market efficiency and liquidity.

It introduces challenges in stability, regulation, and interpretability.

Systematic review of foundational research and technical architectures.

Abstract

The emergence of agentic artificial intelligence (AI) represents a fundamental transformation in financial markets, characterized by autonomous systems capable of reasoning, planning, and adaptive decision-making with minimal human intervention. This comprehensive survey synthesizes recent advances in agentic AI across multiple dimensions of financial operations, including system architecture, market applications, regulatory frameworks, and systemic implications. We examine how agentic AI differs from traditional algorithmic trading and generative AI through its capacity for goal-oriented autonomy, continuous learning, and multi-agent coordination. Our analysis shows that while agentic AI offers substantial potential for enhanced market efficiency, liquidity provision, and risk management, it also introduces novel challenges related to market stability, regulatory compliance, interpretability, and systemic risk. Through a systematic review of foundational research, technical architectures, market applications, and governance frameworks, this survey provides scholars and practitioners with a structured understanding of how agentic AI is reshaping financial markets and identifies critical research directions for ensuring that these systems enhance both operational efficiency and market resilience.