On October 19, Huntington Bank announced The 1866 Studio, which it calls "a new AI-powered operating system built with Gemini platform, Google Cloud's AI platform." The release says it brings together "business guidance, financial intelligence, digital tools and human expertise" for aspiring and existing small business owners.
According to the release, the initial features are:
- Business launch support. AI agents help with steps from entity selection and registration to licensing and operational setup, and build a customized action plan.
- Marketing. Owners can generate marketing materials, digital ad copy and social media campaigns.
- Loan readiness. The tool identifies potential gaps, explains lender expectations, and recommends actions to improve future financing eligibility.
Huntington says small business owners "not limited to Huntington customers" can sign up for early access starting October 19. The release says broader agentic workflows across financial, operational and management needs will follow.
The release doesn't state pricing, which states are eligible, how your financial data is used or protected, or what role human advisers play.
What it means for an SMB
- Loan readiness is the most concrete use. A gap check before you meet a lender is a sensible thing to try.
- Ask before you connect anything. Get cost, data use and accuracy answers in writing first, since the release is silent on all three.
- Verify licensing and registration steps with your state's official sources or an adviser. Our AI approval matrix is a good model for deciding what an AI tool may advise on and what a person must confirm.
- Compare financing advice against offers from other lenders.