Nearly all financial services leaders in a recent Ernst & Young survey said that their organizations are deploying some form of artificial intelligence — and all are either already using generative AI within their businesses or plan to do so.
But amid these universal adoption plans, about a fifth of respondents said they are nervous or skeptical about the potential effect of GenAI on their organizations. A similar percentage does not feel confident that their organizations are well positioned to take advantage of the potential benefits of AI.
Twenty-four percent of insurance leaders fell into the nervous or skeptical category, followed by 21% of those in wealth and asset management, and 17% in banking and capital markets.
"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 optimization, blind optimism and hype around the technology can ultimately have a counterproductive impact on a business," David Kadio-Morokro, EY Americas' financial services innovation leader, said in a statement.
"We like to take an 'innovation intelligence' approach to putting artificial intelligence to work — planning, education and an agile test and [learning] strategy for implementation are imperative for those looking to make the most of AI's potential benefits," Kadio-Morokro said.
Wakefield Research conducted the survey in late August among 300 executive directors, managing directors or higher at financial organizations with $2 billion or more in revenue.
AI Outlook and Implementation
Fifty-five percent of respondents expressed support and optimism about using AI in their organizations. Long term, 77% of executives viewed GenAI as an overall benefit to the financial services industry in the next five to 10 years.
