Behavioral finance meets AI with launch of new fintech platform

Partnership promises 'future of financial advice’ with digital assistant that helps to deepen advisors’ understanding of clients.

In a development touted as “the future of financial advice,” Alai Studios and Shaping Wealth unveiled Lydia, a new AI-powered tool designed to help financial advisors better meet the emotional and financial needs of their clients.

By blending AI technology with insights from behavioral finance, the two firms have developed a platform that offers personalized financial guidance and coaching in order to deepen the advisor-client relationship.

Unlike other fintech applications that often put automation at the fore, Lydia distinguishes itself by reinforcing advisors’ capabilities in key areas of human interaction, including emotional intelligence, decision-making, and client engagement.

Designed to improve financial well-being through better communication between advisors and their clients, the platform operates touches on three distinct “conversational agents”: navigating difficult conversations with clients, the use of behavioral marketing, and exploring the concept of “funded contentment” for clients, which incorporates both financial stability and happiness.

The introduction of Lydia comes at a pivotal time for the wealth management industry. As the industry faces challenges from a talent shortage and the need for more effective client engagement strategies, research by the CFB Board shows a groundswell in positive sentiment toward AI-driven advice.

Despite all the ink spilled about technology’s potential to kill countless jobs, the new AI-driven BeFi platform promises to spark authentic engagement by helping advisors discuss specific scenarios, give guidance to improve their communication strategies, and serve up new perspectives on the psychology of financial planning.

It also promises a personalized learning experience as it remembers advisors’ identities and their previous interactions, which it uses to determine their unique learning style.

“Lydia is an expression of our core belief at Alai that artificial intelligence can and should amplify human brilliance,” said Andrew Smith Lewis, founder and CEO of Alai Studios.

“Now we’re excited to share Lydia and help advisors develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their clients, all while delivering an exceptional service,” Lewis said.

Brian Portnoy, Shaping Wealth’s founder, highlighted Lydia’s potential impact “by leveraging AI not just to inform but also to genuinely enrich the advisor-client dynamic.

“Combined with the extensive suite of Shaping Wealth programming, Lydia illuminates the complex human emotions behind financial behaviors – and how to respond to them,” Portnoy said.