In its 2023 Generative AI (Gen AI) survey, Ernest & Young (EY) reveals that 99% of financial service leaders surveyed report that their organisation was deploying AI in some way, with Gen AI the leading use case.
However, of the financial services leaders surveyed over one in five say they are nervous or skeptical about the potential impact of Gen AI on their organisation – but look set to press ahead regardless.
Those in the insurance sector ranked highest for being unsure of Gen AI’s impact, with 24% falling in the nervous and sceptical category.
David Kadio-Morokro, EY Americas Financial Services Innovation Leader, says: “While there’s a whole world of possibilities and efficiencies AI can create for financial services in areas ranging from data analysis to customer service optimisation, blind optimism and hype around the technology can ultimately have a counterproductive impact on a business.
“We like to take an ‘innovation intelligence’ approach to put artificial intelligence to work — planning, education, and an agile test and learn strategy for implementation is imperative for those looking to make the most of AI’s potential benefits.”
So, for those sceptical about how AI may impact their business, EY suggests a thorough plan is implemented to ensure Gen AI is tailored to a company’s specific needs. With the right planning and preparation, businesses can feel optimistic about AI’s positive impacts.
Indeed, 55% of those surveyed by EY felt supportive and optimistic about using AI today, while 77% believe Gen AI will benefit the financial services sector overall in the next five to ten years.
Of course, for some, there remain hurdles to overcome when implementing Gen AI as effectively as they’d like. 40% of those surveyed by EY say they lack the proper data infrastructure to make the best use of Gen AI, while 35% lack technology infrastructure.
Elsewhere, 36% cite a lack of commitment to Gen AI from leadership as a deployment challenge, and 33% feel the governance and ethical framework surrounding Gen AI remains unclear.
Sameer Gupta, EY Americas Financial Services Organisation Advanced Analytics Leader, adds: “Gen AI holds the potential to revolutionise a broad array of business functions.
“With each new wave of AI and analytic innovation, it becomes increasingly clear how important it is to have a tech stack with a solid foundation.
“Our role is to support financial services organisations in making sure their legacy data and technologies are unimpeachable before adding AI applications on top of existing systems.”
