AI adoption in debt collection didn't creep up over the last few years. It jumped. TransUnion’s 2025 Debt Collection Industry Report found 93% of collection agencies were using or actively considering AI and machine learning tools in 2025, up from 73% in 2024 and 49% in 2023. Only 7% report no plans to deploy AI at all.
That number comes from Transunion’s annual survey of the collections industry, not a vendor's marketing claim. But adoption and results are two different measurements, and the same survey data tells a more complicated story underneath the growth. Here's what the numbers show about how agencies are using AI, where it's delivering, and where the picture is still mixed.
How Fast Is AI Adoption Moving in Collections?
Adoption moved from roughly half of agencies to nearly all of them in two years. The most common use cases in TransUnion’s survey include chat and written communication (47%), scoring and treatment strategies (45%), voice communication (44%), and negotiation support (42%).
Notice what's missing from that list: AI making the final call to sue, settle, or write off an account. The adoption that has happened so far concentrates in communication, monitoring, and prioritization, the parts of the job with a lot of repetitive contact and documentation, rather than the judgment calls.
Investment is following the same pattern. Seventy-six percent of agencies plan to increase technology spending over the next two years, and productivity gains (48%) are the leading reason. Agencies are adopting AI mainly to handle more work with the same headcount.
The Gap Between Adoption and Results
Here's where the data gets interesting. Sixty-four percent of agencies reported increased account volumes in 2025, and 75% expect more growth over the next 12 months, with 48% forecasting double-digit growth. Over the same period, only 39% of agencies saw improved liquidation rates, while 28% saw liquidation rates decline. Third-party agencies saw the biggest effect, with 34% reporting decreased liquidity.
In other words, more accounts are moving through the system with more AI touching them, and a meaningful share of the industry is still collecting a smaller share of what's owed. Much of that has to do with borrower capacity to pay, which no software controls. It also shows that adopting AI and improving recovery are two separate outcomes.
Where AI Is Delivering: Self-Service and Personalization
The clearest, most consistent result in the data is self-service. Ninety-eight percent of organizations now offer at least one self-service option, 87% offer online payment portals, and 90% offer recurring auto-payment. More than a quarter of companies now receive over 40% of payments through a digital portal rather than through a live call.
TransUnion's 2024 report showed this shift was already underway: 57% of agencies were already using AI for account segmentation and predictive analytics, and the industry is visibly moving toward data-driven digital outreach.
That's the part of "AI in collections" that has most clearly earned its adoption number: giving borrowers who can pay a way to do it themselves, and personalizing outreach based on what a scoring model knows about an account. EQ Engage is built around that combination, with a self-service payment portal and AI-driven personalization across SMS, email, and WhatsApp.
AI Collections Agents FAQ
What percentage of collection agencies use AI in 2026? Ninety-three percent of agencies reported using or actively considering AI and machine learning tools as of TransUnion’s 2025 Debt Collection Industry Report, up from 73% in 2024 and 49% in 2023.
What are AI collections tools used for? Common use cases include chat and written communication, scoring and treatment strategies, voice communication, and negotiation support.
Has AI adoption improved liquidation rates industry-wide? Not consistently. Only 39% of agencies reported improved liquidation rates in the same period that saw record AI adoption, while 28% saw rates decline, with third-party agencies affected the most.
How many collections payments now come through digital channels? More than a quarter of companies receive over 40% of their payments through a digital portal, and 87% of organizations offer an online payment portal.