Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ: JKHY) and Google Cloud announced an expanded collaboration to develop AI-driven security capabilities for community banks and credit unions, building on a strategic relationship established in 2022.

Under the arrangement, Jack Henry will use Google Cloud's agentic defense products to build a proprietary AI security platform designed for the financial services sector. The platform is intended to address compliance, regulatory, and security requirements across Jack Henry's operational environment, including Google Cloud, other cloud providers, and on-premises infrastructure.

Jack Henry serves approximately 7,400 community banks and credit unions across the United States. The company said the platform will automate analysis of telemetry data to identify potential threats and coordinate responses.

"Combining our financial services expertise with Google Cloud's agentic defense capabilities enables us to help financial institutions proactively strengthen their defense against increasingly sophisticated threats," said Jack Henry President and CEO Greg Adelson.

Google Cloud's Francis deSouza, chief operating officer and president of Security Products, said the collaboration incorporates Mandiant Consulting and the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform to deliver what he described as "secure-by-design AI."

Jack Henry is also using the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform to develop operational tools for its employees and financial institution clients, including AI-assisted customer service support, analytics, and automation of routine administrative tasks. The company said early adopters of the automation tools reported time savings of up to 70%.

According to Jack Henry's Strategy Benchmark survey of bank and credit union CEOs, AI is the top investment priority for financial institutions.