Hey Google, What Is My Financial Forecast?

Imagine the Possibilities of Artificial Intelligence in Financial Services

The concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for nearly a century with the first robot film, Metropolis in 1927. However, it wasn’t until 1950 when Alan Turing published his paper, “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” that this concept seemed more of a reality. With all the possibilities of AI, leave it to Hollywood to strike fear in the hearts of people with movies about robots or operating systems rising to power to take over the world. As if that could ever happen right? A once unrealistic theory now looks a bit more plausible in a relatively short period of time. Still, this didn’t stop 53 million people in the U.S. who own a smart speaker1. According to the NPR and Edison Research study, smart speaker ownership in U.S. households grew by 78% in just one year.

The convenience of a virtual assistant is unparalleled. Ask the multitasking mom simultaneously cooking dinner and turning on a Netflix movie, “Hey Google, play ‘Coco’ from Netflix on the Kids Room TV”. Ask the young college student juggling school, friends, and freedom for the first time, “Alexa, set a reminder to call home tonight at 6 p.m.” It would be foolish to ignore this growing trend and how it is impacting day-to-day life. Businesses should take note and explore the possibilities of what AI could mean to their customers. As with any technological advancement, there will be some that will adopt and others that will procrastinate and get left behind.

DALBAR’s research has consistently shown a lag within the financial services industry’s adoption of the newest technology. The recent Mobile InSIGHT report points to the slow growing trend of AI in financial services, highlighting how a small percentage of financial services mobile apps have integrated voice and text assistants. Although fascinating to see how firms are now using AI, Hollywood’s futuristic approach of the endless possibilities stretches the imagination far beyond financial firms’ current implementation.

Imagine for a moment that a smart speaker owner could use the following commands:

  • “What is my financial forecast?”
  • “Am I on track to meet my retirement goals?”
  • “Set an appointment with my financial advisor.”
  • “When is my life insurance payment due?”
  • “What is my personal rate of return?”
  • “What is the benefit of reallocating my investments?”

None of the above currently seem out of the realm of possibility but what about:

“Hey Google, How would a new baby effect my financial forecast?”

“Alexa, Would it be in my best interest to buy an income property?”

Now we’re talking!

Perhaps users could make trades or exchanges using a predetermined security pin or be notified of price changes or actions that need to be taken. How about requesting a financial or tax statement or asking for a rundown of the latest newsletter or top blog posts?

What if a mobile app could integrate with a virtual assistant to share pertinent information to improve users’ financial outlook? Financial advisors could potentially reach a wider audience and encourage a better connection with their clients. In this day and age, hands-free technology is key! There are never enough hours in the day, so what if the average American could hire an assistant for under $40 flat! Oh wait, they can.

  • By Jamie Josephs
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  • 4/29/2019
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