Caution Urged on Leveraging AI

Advisers and advice business owners should proceed with care when it comes to harnessing the growing wave of artificial intelligence solutions available to be utilised within their advice process or other areas of their business.

This is one of the key messages shared with advisers by long-time industry consultant, Stewart Bell, at the recent Riskinfocus 24 adviser event series.

In a well-received presentation considering the sometimes dizzying array of technology solutions offered within the financial advice space, Bell, Founder of Audere Coaching & Consulting, summarised a range of areas in which AI can be a trusted vehicle for any adviser or advice business seeking greater efficiencies within their processes.

At the same time, in what was a balanced approach to this emerging opportunity for advice practices, Bell also pointed to other areas where businesses should be wary when it comes to leveraging the capabilities of artificial intelligence, as well as what are presently, in his view, the ‘no-go’ areas for AI.

He told advisers some of the green-light areas where AI can make a difference today and enhance back office efficiencies within an advice practice include:

• Copy editing
• Brainstorming
• Creating client scenarios
• Summarising recorded file notes

Areas where advisers should proceed with caution when using AI include:

• Delivering programmable chatbots
• Summarising long meetings
• Editing videos

Processes or other operations which should not yet leverage artificial intelligence, according to Bell, include:

• Advice documentation
• Client assistance chatbots
• Staff recruitment
• Market research

This chart, taken from Bell’s presentation, offers further areas of the good, the bad and the maybe when it comes to leveraging the capabilities of AI in a financial advice business in 2024:

Bell’s AI reflections were part of a wider conversation with Riskinfocus 24 audiences during which he shared a blueprint to help advisers and advice businesses map out a strategy for use of technology that will best serve their business. Importantly, this strategy will usually be an outcome that is a function of the nature of the advice proposition and the preferences of the owners and key staff for an all-encompassing package or self-selected technology options.

His message was for advisers to understand which technology solutions would be a good fit for their businesses, rather than pursue the latest ‘shiny thing’ such as artificial intelligence without first having undertaken due diligence in terms of best-fit for the efficiency problem for which they are seeking a solution.