In short. In its 2025 annual report, Southern First Bancshares Inc mentions AI in 3 passages. It lists AI as a risk, but the report does not say how AI is controlled.
In the 2025 annual reportThe yearly report a listed company files with the SEC, called a 10-K. It describes the business, its risks and its results.
Mentions AI
Yes
3 passages
Highest detail levelHow specific a passage is about AI at this bank. General: could be in any bank's report. Names an area: says where AI is used or how it is controlled. Concrete example: names a tool or vendor, gives a number, a date or a result.
General
What it says
Sees AI as a risk
Kinds of AI named
Generative AI
How AI is controlled
Not described
AI in its annual reports over time
What this shows
How many passages about AI each annual report contains, 2022 to 2025, by what they say.
What it means
0 passages in 2022, 3 passages in 2025.
How to read it
Each bar is a report year, split by what the passages say. Hover or tap a bar for the count.
Where it comes from
Banks' annual reports (10-K) filed with the SEC, up to 6 Oct 2026. How we did this
Passages about AI in Southern First Bancshares Inc's annual reports, by report year.Show as a table
Report year
Using or planning AI
Explains how AI is controlled
Sees AI as a risk
Other mentions
2022
2022
2022
2022
2023
2023
2023
2023
2024
2024
2024
2024
2025
2025
2025
2025
Compared with banks of its size
What this shows
This bank's 2025 annual report next to all 221 banks of its size ($1B to $50B).
What it means
Its most specific passage is "General"; for banks of its size the typical level is "General".
How to read it
Yes or no for this bank; the share of banks of the same size for comparison.
Where it comes from
Banks' annual reports (10-K) filed with the SEC, up to 6 Oct 2026. How we did this
In the 2025 report
This bank
Banks of its size
Using AI now
No
26 of 221 (12%)
Explains how AI is controlled
No
55 of 221 (25%)
Sees AI as a risk
Yes
184 of 221 (83%)
Mentions generative AI
Yes
112 of 221 (51%)
Mentions AI agents
No
18 of 221 (8%)
What changed from 2024
1 passage new in the 2025 report, 0 passages from the 2024 report no longer there.
Every passage about AI
What this shows
All 5 passages about AI in this bank's annual reports, quarterly reports and earnings materials since 2023, newest first.
What it means
0 passages say the bank is using AI now.
How to read it
Highlighted words are the terms that matched. Labels show what each passage says. Follow the link to read it in the filing.
Where it comes from
Banks' annual reports (10-K), quarterly reports (10-Q) and earnings materials (8-K) filed with the SEC. How we did this
Annual report, report year 2025 filed 24 Feb 2026
The banking and financial services industry is very competitive and includes services offered from other banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, mortgage companies, other lenders, and institutions offering uninsured investment alternatives. Legal and regulatory developments have made it easier for new and sometimes unregulated competitors to compete with us. The financial services industry has and is experiencing an ongoing trend towards consolidation in which fewer large national and regional banks and other financial institutions are replacing many smaller and more local banks. These larger banks and other financial institutions hold a large accumulation of assets and have significantly greater resources and a wider geographic presence or greater accessibility. In some instances, these larger entities operate without the traditional brick and mortar facilities that restrict geographic presence. Some competitors have more aggressive marketing campaigns and better brand recognition, and are able to offer more services, more favorable pricing or greater customer convenience than the Bank. In addition, competition has increased from new banks and other financial services providers that target our existing or potential clients. As consolidation continues among large banks, we expect other smaller institutions to try to compete in the markets we serve. This competition could reduce our net income by decreasing the number and size of the loans that we originate and the interest rates we charge on these loans. Additionally, these competitors may offer higher interest rates, which could decrease the deposits we attract or require us to increase rates to retain existing deposits or attract new deposits. Increased deposit competition could adversely affect our ability to generate the funds necessary for lending operations which could increase our cost of funds. Likewise, rapid adoption of AI by competitors, either in financial services or FinTech, could create significant pressure on pricing, automation, or client satisfaction. If we fail to keep pace with AI-enabled analytics and customer offerings, our competitive positioning could be detrimentally impacted.
The development and use of AI by us or our third-party vendors poses significant risks. The evolving legal and regulatory landscape—covering intellectual property, privacy, consumer protection, employment, and more—could force costly changes and heighten non-compliance risks. AI models, especially generative ones, might produce biased, inaccurate, harmful, or otherwise ‘hallucinated’ outputs, disclose confidential information, or infringe on intellectual property rights. Moreover, their inherent complexity limits transparency, complicating oversight and error reduction. Reliance on third-party models further exposes us to risks associated with unauthorized training data and their risk management practices. Any of these issues could lead to legal liabilities, reputational harm, and adverse impacts on our business.
The development and use of AI by us or our third-party vendors poses significant risks. The evolving legal and regulatory landscape—covering intellectual property, privacy, consumer protection, employment, and more—could force costly changes and heighten non-compliance risks. AI models, especially generative ones, might produce biased, inaccurate, or harmful outputs, disclose confidential information, or infringe on intellectual property rights. Moreover, their inherent complexity limits transparency, complicating oversight and error reduction. Reliance on third-party models further exposes us to risks associated with unauthorized training data and their risk management practices. Any of these issues could lead to legal liabilities, reputational harm, and adverse impacts on our business.
Sees AI as a riskDetail: GeneralGenerative AINew this year
13 passages in legal noticesThe forward-looking statements notice at the start or end of a filing. It often lists AI among many risks. It is never counted., not counted
· Risks associated with complex and changing regulatory environments, including, among others, with respect to data privacy, artificial intelligence (“AI”), information security, climate change or other environmental, social and governance matters, and labor matters, relating to our operations;
· Risks associated with complex and changing regulatory environments, including, among others, with respect to data privacy, artificial intelligence (“AI”), information security, climate change or other environmental, social and governance matters, and labor matters, relating to our operations;
· Risks associated with complex and changing regulatory environments, including, among others, with respect to data privacy, artificial intelligence (“AI”), information security, climate change or other environmental, social and governance matters, and labor matters, relating to our operations;
· Risks associated with complex and changing regulatory environments, including, among others, with respect to data privacy, artificial intelligence (“AI”), information security, climate change or other environmental, social and governance matters, and labor matters, relating to our operations;
· Risks associated with complex and changing regulatory environments, including, among others, with respect to data privacy, artificial intelligence (“AI”), information security, climate change or other environmental, social and governance matters, and labor matters, relating to our operations;
· Risks associated with complex and changing regulatory environments, including, among others, with respect to data privacy, artificial intelligence (“AI”), information security, climate change or other environmental, social and governance matters, and labor matters, relating to our operations;
· Risks associated with complex and changing regulatory environments, including, among others, with respect to data privacy, artificial intelligence (“AI”), information security, climate change or other environmental, social and governance matters, and labor matters, relating to our operations;
· Risks associated with complex and changing regulatory environments, including, among others, with respect to data privacy, artificial intelligence, information security, climate change or other environmental, social and governance matters, and labor matters, relating to our operations;
● Risks associated with complex and changing regulatory environments, including, among others, with respect to data privacy, artificial intelligence, information security, climate change or other environmental, social and governance matters, and labor matters, relating to our operations;
● Risks associated with complex and changing regulatory environments, including, among others, with respect to data privacy, artificial intelligence, information security, climate change or other environmental, social and governance matters, and labor matters, relating to our operations;
● Risks associated with complex and changing regulatory environments, including, among others, with respect to data privacy, artificial intelligence, information security, climate change or other environmental, social and governance matters, and labor matters, relating to our operations;
● Risks associated with complex and changing regulatory environments, including, among others, with respect to data privacy, artificial intelligence, information security, climate change or other environmental, social and governance matters, and labor matters, relating to our operations;
● Risks associated with complex and changing regulatory environments, including, among others, with respect to data privacy, artificial intelligence, information security, climate change or other environmental, social and governance matters, and labor matters, relating to our operations;