FINANCE
THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OPPORTUNITY IN THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR When most of us think of AI, we imagine slick, intuitive designs, underpinned by quick, efficient systems all handed to you on a personalised plate. What many of us don’t necessarily think of is hard, cold numbers. Odd really when data is the key foundation underpinning AI. Artificial intelligence is all about data or numbers, input into systems that are then analysed and summarised to provide a game-changing customer experience across all industries but particularly in finance. Outside of blockchain, artificial intelligence has long been considered the holy grail for financial services. As an industry steeped in data, the pairing is already perfect, and the benefits are unmistakeable. Whether finance brands want to provide a top-level customer service chatbot or, on a more 64
granular level, deliver financial services in line with ever increasing regulatory guidance, there isn’t much that AI can’t do to progress the finance industry. Making AI a Success in Financial Services Paradoxically, the financial services sector as a whole is being left behind with consumercentric industries across the globe pulling ahead to expose a chasm between what customers want and the experience that they receive. At a time when the customer experience is heralded as the sacred vessel through which all things are possible for businesses, making a success of AI in finance is considered crucial. The modern financial brands that are doing well today have one main thing in common – they are dominated by technology.
Challenger banks and contemporary financial businesses are disrupting the industry’s standards and setting the pace for AI and data analytics. However, in their swift route to entry and with consistent software upgrades, there are still some nuanced implementations to bear in mind. Near the top of that list is having an accurate understanding and knowledge of the data being used. There are many potential downfalls when inputting data and we have all heard of the horror stories around biometric profiling and the biases that can become apparent when digitising personal data. The same goes for consumer finances, so scrupulously computerising numbers will be fundamental to testing and training software to learn the value from data and unlock its true prophetic potential.
