The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is testing artificial‑intelligence tools to improve how it monitors price changes and forecasts the economy, a move prompted by heightened market volatility.

Director of Research Robert Mudida said the bank has identified roughly 300 possible AI uses across its 14 departments, with several projects already moving to implementation this year.

One pilot focuses on analysing online supermarket listings to match products, brands and quantities with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, providing more granular inflation data throughout the month.

Another initiative explores nowcasting – estimating real‑time economic conditions – by processing satellite imagery and integrating the results with CBK’s high‑frequency indicators before official GDP figures are released.

The bank is also trialling machine‑learning models that detect errors in past forecasts and automatically adjust parameters to reflect shifting market dynamics, a response to the energy‑price shock that began in February.

CBK plans to use AI to sift through large volumes of financial data, including mobile‑money transaction streams, to uncover patterns linking different economic variables.

All AI projects are being designed with safeguards; the regulator’s draft Risk Management Guidelines 2026, released in September, require human oversight, transparency, bias testing and regular validation for any AI‑driven assessment.

Mudida stressed that AI is intended to augment, not replace, human judgement, noting that critical policy decisions will continue to rely on expert review.