Financial advisers who wish to implement artificial intelligence (AI) in their practices need to undergo a change in their mindset as to how they use technology.
Speaking at the Vanguard adviser roadshow in Sydney on 13 February, Michael Kollo, chief executive of Evolved.AI, said 39 per cent of advisers are already using AI in their business. An additional 38 per cent are planning to use it in the next year.
The main reasons it is being used is for client relationship management, client communication, documentation and compliance reporting.
However, a larger portion of advisers are yet to implement it in their practices, and Kollo said one area of pushback he comes across when speaking with advisers is around impartial concerns and whether AI demonstrates a bias.
To combat this, Kollo said it is crucial for advisers to rethink how they use AI and embrace the fact that it needs to be trained, contrary to how other historical technology has been used.
“The models will get better and more inclusive. Don’t think of it as an entity outside of yourself; think about it as being closer to yourself that you engage with, and as you do that, you will get better information,” he said.
“It’s about having an ongoing narrative with the AI. It isn’t like email where you press ‘send’ and it just happens, so we need to change up our thinking around that. It is a behavioural change; you need it to mirror what you are thinking.”
Other advisers felt overwhelmed by the possibilities offered by AI and were unsure where to start with implementing it in their practice. In light of this, Kollo encouraged practice owners to think of a clear business case of areas where they want the AI to improve their processes rather than expecting it to be used everywhere.
“The big challenge for advisers at the moment is knowing where to start and how to modify their existing workflows to use AI. It is important to start with the business conviction and ambition of how you want AI to improve your business.
“AI’s role is to optimise your workflow and make you more efficient. It isn’t to take away your personal service.”
