AI Articles and Analysis in Finance

Chatbots have been a fixture of customer service life for the past few years and in the public eye for nearly a decade. Unfortunately, chatbots have garnered a reputation in that time as a generally mediocre technology, or otherwise the apex of merely a passing fad.

Banking is an industry well-known for its robust office culture. Even though banks performed incredibly well during the pandemic – record profits despite global uncertainty – some prominent banking leaders wanted their employees back in the office. Unfortunately for these leaders, they are fighting a losing battle. 

In the wake of COVID-19, conversation agents remain a huge focus for financial institutions looking to maintain and winning market share through a seamless digital experience for the customer, not to mention cost savings in branches and personnel. Though that interest is growing far beyond customer experience with the promise of spare banking use cases hinting that conversational AI can also help streamline internal processes between departments for employees. 

Until recently, research has shown that banking companies have been somewhat hesitant regarding the business value of AI. A proliferation of external evidence indicates that the trend is quickly changing. According to a recent report by The Economist, 85% of IT executives in banking said they “had a clear strategy” for AI adoption in 2022. 

AI is coming to banking and picking up speed. In a 2020 survey conducted by PwC Research, banks cited increased productivity and efficiencies, just ahead of revenue growth, as their top goal for their AI initiatives. 

Following nearly a decade of rampant cybersecurity events and subsequent negative press, successful AI use cases in fraud detection and data security are catching the collective eyes of investors and boardrooms across fintech. There are signals that demand for cyber security solutions might be currently peaking as the FBI recently reported an increase in online security complaints of only slightly over 300,000 from 2019 to 2020. 

U.S. Bank is the fifth largest bank in the United States by total assets. Traded on the NYSE (symbol: USB), the company has a market capitalization of approximately $67 billion. In its 2021 annual report, U.S. bank reported a net income of $8 billion on $22.8 billion in revenue. In the same report, the CEO cites nearly 70,000 employees.

As AI automation (aka, “intelligent automation,” or IA) in financial services quickly becomes mainstream, it attracts increased stakeholder interest as firms explore the possibility of unlocking value via increased efficiency, cost reduction, and enhanced predictive capabilities.