Could, or should, AI be used to take part in financial services conversations?
We are a long way away from having a robot taking over the whole client-adviser relationship, but AI is already being used to help create conversational partners beyond what the typical AI chatbot has been doing in online interactions.
In this editor's podcast, Paul Michelman, editor-in-chief at the Boston Consulting Group, discusses the importance and usefulness of conversational AI with GENE, a very intelligent chatbot created by the BCG.
According to Michelman, "We wanted to do something different with our podcast, something unusual or futuristic, and this unleashed a process that eventually resulted in GENE.
"GENE was born to do a specific job, to co-produce a podcast called 'Imagine This'. Now we realise that GENE may have jobs beyond what we originally conceived."
While GENE and its ilk may not yet be able to grasp the pronunciation of names such as 'Simoney' (humans themselves cannot get it right), it can think about parentheticals and assess various conversational structures to take conversations forward, before it comes up with a response.
"I try to refrain from anthropomorphising but it is very difficult", Paul said. "The human-like conversational qualities that GENE can bring to interactions with humans goes back to how it was developed."
GENE is based on open AI (Chat GPT), with text-to-language processing and other technologies layered on top.
The technology exists to give GENE a human voice, rather than a robotic one, but the BCG team behind GENE believed it was important at this point in time to be transparent with listeners that GENE was not a human.
There are also "variations in accuracy", as GENE said. "The joy of accents. As AI, I am designed to understand diverse accents but there can be some variations in accuracy.
"It is a continually evolving process, much like the refinement of a good British tea blend."
So what can conversational AI bring to client servicing in financial services?
According to the two guests, the personal experience that advisers and wealth managers bring to their clients cannot be replicated, but the potential for personalisation is "a whole new ball game".
GENE said: "The advent of autonomous agents opens up fascinating possibilities for customisation in financial services."
To find out ways that conversational AI can help improve business processes or boost your client service in the future, click on the podcast link above.
