Capital One: 3 ways to lean into AI responsibly

Ensuring technology aligns with regulatory guardrails, addressing potential pitfalls in AI-driven information sharing and aligning innovation with changes in the industry are key for auto lenders looking to employ new technologies, Sanjiv Yajnik , president of financial services at Capital One , told Auto Finance News. Capital One is leaning into AI in auto finance on the lending front and on ways to bring more customers into car dealerships, Yajnik said, noting the bank is innovating in a sustainable way. “Unless you start at the bottom of the tech stack — data — and you build your way up from there, you're not going to get the power of AI fully." -- Sanjiv Yajnik, Capital One “Unless you start at the bottom of the tech stack — data — and you build your way up from there, you're not going to get the power of AI fully,” he said. “When you build it from the ground up, you're going to be able to use every new tool that comes on in a more effective way.” Watch this week’s podcast with Yajnik here. Technological advancement is at the core of Yajnik’s leadership approach, with 27 patents to his name and more pending. Capital One also has created innovations such as its Navigator Platform and agentic AI-based tool Chat Concierge . Along with creating the right building blocks for technological advancement, businesses must also be mindful of adopting technologies responsibly, Yajnik said. He shared three considerations for responsibly employing AI and advancing tech stacks with AFN this week. 1. Involve regulators Regulators are directly involved in Capital One's process when creating or deploying new technology tools, Yajnik said, adding that they “are sitting in our buildings and looking at everything that we do.” “Our regulators and us are aligned on what it is that we're trying to do,” he said. “We're trying to make sure that the consumer is protected, the dealers are protected, the manufacturers are protected, and that we are doing everything in the right way.” Guardrails are necessary, Yajnik said, and “force a tremendous amount of really high-quality innovation.” 2. Avoid biases AI has transformed how consumers get information , with AI agents able to employ reasoning and interact with consumers much the way humans do, Yajnik said. For example, AI-based chat tools have evolved and go beyond “if, then” statements to provide more tailored answers to the questions posed, he said. “The makeup of AI is a neural net. It works like the brain." -- Sanjiv Yajnik, Capital One “The makeup of AI is a neural net. It works like the brain, and the electrons don't flow through it the same every single time,” he said. As customers use AI-driven tools to research vehicles, dealers and lenders must be mindful of the potential for false or misleading information to spread through various tools consumers are using, Yajnik said. “Customers are going to look for cars but be careful about hallucination and the in-built biases that are going to start coming about because of AI,” he said. “We don't know what the biases are right now, but I would encourage customers to not do the research just in one place.” 3. Adjust to change Lenders and dealers must be mindful of how technology is shaping the industry and adjust accordingly, Yajnik said. “The way cars are made ... is fundamentally going to change over time,” he said. “Even if it is an internal combustion engine, the amount of intelligence going into cars is totally different.” Robotics will also change car manufacturing, and rising gas prices could prompt a shift away from larger cars , Yajnik noted. These changes are occurring as the industry shifts back toward a “low volume, high margin business [to] a high volume, low margin business ” from pandemic-era profitability spikes. With many changes, dealers are going to face an abundance of information coming at them, Yajnik said. “AI is going to make the noise become cacophonic,” he said. Lenders must remember that dealers are adjusting to change and support them with the right tools, Yajnik said. There is “going to be a lot of innovation that happens from here, but we are going to come out on the other side,” he said. “Consumers are going to be happier, and the dealers who lean into this are going to be incredibly successful.” Capital One’s auto originations increased 8.5% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025 to $10.2 billion, with auto outstandings up 8.8% YoY to $83.6 billion. Auto Finance News will present multiple invaluable events for industry professionals in 2026, starting with Auto Finance Summit East and Auto Finance Capital Summit in May. Register by March 27 for early-bird savings. To see event agendas and register, visit autofinance.live .

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