Platform provider Envestnet | Yodlee says it has bought Abe AI to let advisors and financial firms take advantage of conversational artificial intelligence in their interactions with clients.
The AI technology, which is based on natural language processing, means financial firms can talk with clients via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, for instance. Abe AI's technology also works on SMS, Facebook Messenger and other interfaces.
"It's a very smart, strategic move," said Gavin Spitzner, president of Wealth Consulting Partners, in an interview. "As Envestnet gets deeper into delivering financial wellness and client-engagement solutions, a fully integrated natural-language-processing AI capability is a logical value add — in particular for the majority of wealth managers who haven't yet incorporated these tools."
The news comes two months after BlackRock said it was buying a roughly 4.9% stake of Envestnet. That deal allows the platform provider's advisor clients to work more with BlackRock's planning and risk overlay tools.
"Conversational artificial intelligence will immediately complement our entire Envestnet portfolio, propelling financial data interactions and analytics to the next level," according to Brandon Rembe, Envestnet | Yodlee senior vice president of product management.
