Study identifies speed to market as an emerging competitive advantage for financial institutions.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Banks and credit unions are embracing generative artificial intelligence for marketing, but most have yet to address a more fundamental barrier to growth: the time it takes to turn customer signals into compliant action.

New research from Cornerstone Advisors finds that financial institutions often measure marketing performance by campaign results, engagement and personalization while overlooking speed to market. That disconnect can leave institutions unable to respond before a customer need, market opportunity or competitive opening has passed. 

Commissioned by Persado, the report, Speed Is a Revenue Strategy: How AI Agents Accelerate Bank Marketing, is based on a recent study of bank and credit union marketing leaders and examines how AI agents can help financial institutions reduce compliance bottlenecks, orchestrate customer journeys and act on market opportunities in real time. Unlike generative AI tools that primarily create content, AI agents can execute defined actions within approved controls and governance frameworks.

“The banking industry’s challenge isn’t a lack of marketing technology. It’s the inability to move fast enough to capitalize on opportunities,” said Elizabeth Gujral, a director at Cornerstone Advisors and co-author of the report. “AI agents can help institutions compress marketing timelines, engage customers at higher-intent moments and measure speed as a growth metric, not just an efficiency metric.” 

The research highlights a significant gap between financial institutions’ use of generative AI and their adoption of agentic AI:

Generative AI use is growing, but remains largely tactical. Sixty-three percent of bank and credit union marketing teams use generative AI for content creation, compared with 32% that use AI for analytics and decision support. 

Adoption of AI agents remains limited. Just 9% of respondents currently use AI agents capable of executing actions. Forty-seven percent consider agentic AI an experimental or emerging investment area, while only 5% identify it as a top strategic priority. 

Comfort with governed autonomy is increasing. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said that, within two years, they expect their organizations to be somewhat or very comfortable allowing AI agents to execute marketing actions within approved boundaries. 

Orchestration and recommendations offer the greatest perceived impact. Respondents identified campaign or journey orchestration at 27% and offer or product recommendations at 25% as the AI agent applications with the greatest potential business impact. 

“AI agents are not just another marketing tool. They are a way to compress the distance between customer signal and compliant action,” said Emmanuel Richard, chief revenue officer at Persado. “Institutions that can move from insight to outreach in hours instead of weeks will be better positioned to win deposits, loans, loyalty and wallet share while competitors are still waiting on approvals.” 

Compliance review is among the most significant obstacles to faster execution, the study found. Review cycles at some financial institutions can take four to six weeks, even as business opportunities emerge and disappear within days or hours. AI-powered compliance review can help shorten that timeline while maintaining regulatory oversight, defined controls and auditability. 

The report identifies four practical applications for AI agents in financial services marketing: integrated compliance review, intelligent customer journey orchestration, generative content optimization and real-time segmentation. These applications can help institutions validate content, trigger timely outreach, accelerate testing and keep customer segments current. 

The full report is available as a free download here. 

About Cornerstone Advisors

For more than 20 years, Cornerstone Advisors has delivered bold strategies, data-driven insights and practical solutions to banks, credit unions and fintech companies. Its services include technology system selection and implementation, contract negotiations, vendor management, performance improvement, strategic planning, merger integration and enterprise program management. For more information, visit https://www.crnrstone.com. 

About Persado

Persado provides AI-powered content compliance and performance solutions for marketing. Its Marketing Compliance AI platform combines regulatory compliance analysis, performance prediction scoring and brand-fit insights to help financial services marketing and legal teams identify compliance risks and shorten review cycles. For more information, visit https://www.persado.com/. 

Media Contact

Cate Pitts, Editorial Director
Cornerstone Advisors
423672@email4pr.com
480-425-5203

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SOURCE Cornerstone Advisors

Eqvista establishes a $9 trillion baseline for the U.S. private-company market, creating a new benchmark for tracking changes in private market value over time.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Eqvista, a leading equity management and valuation platform for private companies, today announced that Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation® now tracks and values 65,000 relevant U.S. private companies with a combined estimated valuation of $9 trillion.

Together, these companies represent approximately 95% of the relevant market value captured within Eqvista’s U.S. private-company dataset, establishing a baseline for tracking private company valuations over time.

Eqvista will monitor changes in the combined value of its private-company dataset monthly, creating an ongoing benchmark for how private market valuations move over time.

Private company valuation has traditionally been fragmented. Unlike public markets, where market capitalization and pricing can be observed continuously, private-company valuations are produced for individual businesses at specific points in time, making it difficult to see how the market as a whole is changing.

Eqvista is applying its valuation infrastructure across thousands of businesses to move beyond individual valuations and build a continuously evolving view of private market value.

“Private markets have never had the valuation visibility that public markets take for granted,” said Tomas Milar, Founder and CEO of Eqvista. “With approximately 65,000 companies representing $9 trillion in estimated value, we now have a baseline for measuring the private market at scale. By updating that view over time, we can show not just what individual companies are worth, but how the private market itself is moving.”

Powered by Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation®, the system combines AI- and ML-powered valuation models with financial data, funding activity, market benchmarks, comparable-company data and valuation models with expert valuation oversight. Valuations evolve as company performance and market conditions change.

The September benchmark includes:

Approximately 65,000 relevant U.S. private companies$9 trillion in combined estimated company valuationApproximately 95% of relevant market value captured within Eqvista’s U.S. private-company datasetMonthly monitoring of changes in aggregate private market valueCompany and peer benchmarking across industries and market segments

The initiative expands Eqvista’s valuation infrastructure beyond individual company valuations to create a private market benchmark. Companies and investors can use Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation® to monitor company value, compare performance with market peers, and track valuation changes over time through Eqvista’s web platform and mobile app.

About Eqvista

Eqvista is a valuation and equity management platform building valuation infrastructure for greater transparency across private markets. Trusted by more than 25,000 companies worldwide, Eqvista combines in-house valuation expertise with technology, AI-powered analysis, and equity management to help private companies understand and manage ownership and value throughout their lifecycle. Through Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation®, Eqvista is expanding beyond traditional point-in-time valuations to provide a more connected and continuously evolving view of private company value.

Contact Information

Jakub Vele
Head of Marketing
423656@email4pr.com
+1 (415) 375-4963

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SOURCE Eqvista

myKaarma’s digital multi-point inspection technology to be integrated into automotive technician training at no cost

LONG BEACH, Calif. and ATLANTA, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — myKaarma, the leading customer interaction and payments platform for automotive dealerships, today announced a pilot with Universal Technical Institute, Inc., a national leader in workforce solutions for transportation, skilled trades, healthcare and dental education programs.

The pilot will integrate myKaarma’s digital multi-point inspection technology into the automotive technician training program at Universal Technical Institute’s new Atlanta campus. myKaarma is providing its software at no cost for the pilot.

“The strong demand for technicians continues to put pressure on dealerships, making it even more important that new technicians enter the workforce ready for the realities of the job,” said Ujj Nath, CEO of myKaarma. “Working with UTI-Atlanta brings our technology directly into the classroom and gives students experience with the digital processes that are now part of the technician’s job.”

“We continue to evolve our training programs to reflect the reality of today’s dealership service departments,” said John Dodson, Vice President of Business Alliances, Universal Technical Institute. “This pilot with myKaarma positions their technology alongside the technical instruction, so our students have more context about how the work they’re doing on the vehicle fits into the broader service process.”

The pilot will build on UTI-Atlanta’s technical training by adding more of the digital skills used every day in dealership service departments. Along with mechanical expertise, dealership technicians document inspections, explain recommended repairs to customers and use digital platforms throughout the service process. Students will be progressively introduced to the features of the myKaarma platform as they advance through their courses.

By the program’s capstone course, students will use myKaarma across a more complete service lane workflow, conducting full multi-point inspections, developing expanded repair recommendations, and preparing detailed parts and labor estimates. They will also begin using Invisible Service Videos to document vehicle conditions and communicate recommended services to customers.

About myKaarma 
myKaarma is a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions that transform the after-sales service experience at automotive dealerships. Its integrated platform includes communications, appointment scheduling, payments, video inspections, and analytics tools used by thousands of dealers to increase efficiency, customer satisfaction, and profitability. For more information, visit mykaarma.com.

About Universal Technical Institute 
Founded in 1965, Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE: UTI) is a national leader in workforce solutions for transportation, skilled trades, healthcare and dental education programs. The company’s industry-aligned programs are offered at 35 campuses nationwide and online under the brands Universal Technical Institute (UTI) and Concorde Career Colleges and include auto/diesel, aviation, welding, HVACR, electrical and energy, allied health, dental, nursing, patient care and diagnostic training. For more information, visit www.uti.edu or www.concorde.edu; LinkedIn at @UniversalTechnicalInstitute and @Concorde Career Colleges; or X at @news_UTI and @ConcordeCareer.

Media Contacts
Laurie Halter
Charisma! Communications
503-816-2474
423634@email4pr.com

Alanna Vitucci
Universal Technical Institute
423634@email4pr.com 

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SOURCE myKaarma