AI: It’s more personal than you think

With the rise of artificial intelligence platforms, concerns about job impacts and the threat to human workers behind the scenes continue to blossom. However, AI may not cause the negative impacts on businesses that many fear, especially in the wealth management industry and for financial professionals. As financial firms reallocate resources to better use AI, these technologies stand to positively impact client relations by fostering more personalized experiences.

IS AI THE NEW NORMAL?

AI is not going away. In fact, about 85% of financial firms are using these platforms in a variety of ways, including to detect fraud and predict cash flow events. As such, those not already using AI should consider its impact in the current marketplace, as well as how AI usage will continue to grow. While many are concerned about the lack of humanization that may come from AI, other firms are pushing ahead by doubling down on AI usage to add more of a human touch to their work.

How is this possible? Various AI methods and services may aid in the representation of diverse communities, offering multiple support and engagement experiences. This is core to creating a strong service story, as well as making investments to leverage machine-supported actions, advisor profile alignment and “best action” technology to facilitate that experience. Firms should not force a “fixed” technology stack on their advisor firms. Instead, they should support the flexibility needed to allow them to control their style of operation.

To achieve this at scale, firms will need to make multiple investments in personalization. This means making choices to leverage and curate technologies that allow associates to present customized presentations of firm-level, and even role-based, experiences with their technology. This work is in its early stage, but the foundation has been successfully set, allowing firms to roll out solutions today that advance this relationship with their services.

USING AI TO PERSONALIZE FINANCE

So what investments can financial firms make when it comes to using AI to make personalized solutions? Firms need to consider making both organizational and system investments in AI solutions that guide better outcomes. Our financial and related compliance reality is becoming more complex. In fact, many would agree that managing change within our industry is difficult and that solutions that provide better guidance and stronger value in service delivery are key advantages. With the enhanced guidance AI offers, financial professionals can provide more personalized plans for each client served.

[More: AI for Financial Planning: What does ChatGPT mean for the future of retirement planning?]

Experts in the financial space recognize the growing spectrum of potential AI solutions. However, in a highly regulated industry in which data security is critical, we need to focus on resources that expand the advisory experience with guidance-enhanced solutions, associate training and compliance support.

[More: Accelerating AI: Why advisers and automation need to collide]

THE HUMAN TOUCH

The pressure for an immediate treatment for a transaction date reference, strong industry-supported data frameworks and established standards for security protecting data is rising. We, as providers in this space, will benefit from the so-called Data Race that's currently underway. The derivative AI technology is based on, and limited by, the training made possible by the data we leverage. Current AI capabilities can't be considered “human-free,” as it is we as humans who must choose how we leverage the data. In fact, it's possible that it will never be fully human-free, but rather an aid to a more personalized approach for clients.

Nick Graham is executive vice president and chief technology officer at Cambridge Investment Research Inc.