AI in focus
How advisers are using technology to improve client experience
19 June 2024
4 min read
CFS 10x and Microsoft recently hosted an early-adopting group of financial advisers to discuss the benefits of AI for their practices and clients. The insightful sessions worked though use cases of where AI can be best applied to improve both the adviser and client experience. It soon became clear that this digital modernisation journey has immense time-saving potential.
The video below was taken at a recent CFS 10x event held at the Microsoft Technology Centre in Sydney. With a focus on tech innovation, over 80 advisers experienced three unique sessions, including a round table with Microsoft executives and CFS executives followed by two all-in workshops. In this video, advisers who attended the insightful sessions talk about where AI can be best applied to improve both the adviser and client experience. Read more below on the practical applications that have immense time-saving potential.
Jeroen Buwalda
Great opportunity to be here today with our advisers and the practices that they're part of, and to share some of the knowledge and the thinking that we've been able to build up working with our partner Microsoft, over the last 18 months.
Rebecca Engel
Today we had a really insightful session with Microsoft and Colonial First State and many of their advisers about the impact of generative AI in their practices, but also in the economy as well. We talked about really solid use cases about how this could transform their practice and transform the way they engage with their customers.
Shane Hermann
For us, our IT sort of held us back from using AI. I think I've got the answers to go back to IT to open it up for us. I think it's going to be a game changer. It's going to drive a lot of efficiency. It's going to stop us doing a lot of manual things where we can actually start to automate. So, I got a lot from it.
Michelle Krig
It's been really exciting to be able to spend today in the Microsoft technology centre. It's not something that we've ever done before, but we can absolutely hear that the advisers have gotten a lot of value out of it. I think particularly just learning from each other and being able to ask each other questions. We also had a lot of different experts around the grounds. We had people from CFS, we had people from Microsoft and a lot of different use cases. So, I think we're actually giving them something that they can go back to their businesses and implement tomorrow.
Jeroen Buwalda
Generative AI and Copilot from Microsoft, it’s still very early days. We've enabled our staff to learn, because for me, that is the most important thing at this stage in the cycle with this innovation is for people to get familiar with these new technologies. To learn and then the use cases will come out of that. We’re already working on some experiments to ensure that we apply this to very specific areas, how do we assist my agents on the phones, in dealing with client inquiries or adviser inquiries. Or indeed how we assist advisers to better understand the complex taxation and superannuation environment in Australia. So those are early cases for us to explore with many more to come.
Gordon Wilson
Senior leadership were here today so I think that just goes to show how much value, priority and commitment they're putting into this AI piece and in supporting small business to transform. Even Microsoft's ability to put something like this on and make themselves available was second to none. So kudos to both.
Rebecca Engel
Here at Microsoft, we are absolutely delighted to be partnering with Colonial First State on their AI journey and how they will look to innovate not only within their organization, but also the financial services industry as a whole.
Five ways advisers are trialing AI in their practices
If 2023 was the year for big picture digital transformation and AI innovation globally, then 2024 is when industries such as financial services are asking practical questions like how can generative AI help my business? For financial advisers starting the AI journey, the easy wins have proved to be in improving efficiencies, saving time and decreasing costs in areas like content production and client support. For some, this has come through experimenting with free tools like ChatGPT, while others have explored their tech provider’s offering, such as Microsoft 365’s AI-powered Copilot. Here we look at the five key areas where advisers are reporting benefits.
Organising workload
The average financial adviser might conduct eight to 10 client meetings per week. Factor in the time needed to prepare and file notes afterwards, and you are looking at a significant chunk of the working week. Through the CFS 10x program, advisers have reported that using AI to record, transcribe and summarise client meetings has been the most obvious time saving. With no need to take notes, everyone in the room can be fully engaged in the conversation while the ability to produce an accurate summary within 15 minutes can lead to a significant saving in the admin time needed to service each client.
Client service
Better documentation of client interactions also has a flow-on effect to the client experience, especially when AI can assist in reducing complex financial services jargon to a few actionable bullet points. Some early-adopter financial advisers believe that AI’s full potential may ultimately lie in producing personalised, data-driven financial guidance. Client interactions can also be improved by using AI to optimise marketing efforts, improving overall efficiency and effectiveness while reducing costs. In this scenario, AI is more than just a technological tool, functioning more like an intelligent and proactive assistant in augmenting the capabilities of the financial advisers.
Email communication
Copilot and other AI can help users write better emails by providing suggestions on how to adjust their tone and clarity before hitting send. The technology can also summarise long email chains into a few key points or generate draft replies based on an individual’s recent emails and other relevant information. This may assist in adopting an appropriate tone with each client, which may be especially useful when having difficult conversations, and to convey their intended message more effectively. The advantages for those practices with a substantial but diverse client base are clear.
Content creation
AI’s ability to automate mundane tasks is now well established and the new frontier is its capacity to craft engaging social media posts, generate comprehensive market reports or even tailored client communications. This may still require some human input but there is no doubt that AI-powered tools can streamline the content creation process for time-poor financial advisers. For now, this may be as simple as using AI to minimise mistakes, inaccuracies and errors in marketing communication images, video and text but AI can also provide in-house support in areas that most small businesses don’t have a dedicated resource for. Some examples include:
- The ability to draw information from multiple sources
- helping to turn complicated market reports into client friendly versions with simplified language
- fill comms skills gaps in the team and provide a starting point to review and refine
- Increase frequency of content and client touch points across social platforms which can help educate clients, increase engagement and which, ultimately, may help in generating client leads.
Automate documents
While financial advisers must adhere to their licensee’s policy framework around data security and privacy standards, there will likely be scope for AI beyond administrative tasks. For now, advisers are largely being warned off doing client calculations and modelling or producing advice documentation through AI tools. However, some variety of enterprise-grade AI solution seems inevitable in the next few years. For now, advisers should continue down the path of individually experimenting with AI with the support of their licensees with guiding organisations like CFS assisting on this digital modernisation journey.
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• This document provides general information for the adviser only and is not to be handed to any investor. Information on this webpage is provided by Avanteos Investments Limited ABN 20 096 259 979, AFSL 245531 (AIL) and Colonial First State Investments Limited ABN 98 002 348 352, AFSL 232468 (CFSIL). It may include general advice but does not consider anyone’s individual objectives, financial situation, needs or tax circumstances. You should read the Financial Services Guide (FSG) before making any recommendations to a client. This information is based on current requirements and laws as at the date of publication. Published as at 26 June 2023.