How financial advisers can embrace the evolving landscape

Earlier this month, TCC and Recordsure founder Joanne Smith spoke as part of an expert panel at the Artificial Intelligence in Financial Advice conference to consider how AI can help with adviser compliance. Here are some of the key takeaways from the discussion

AI with humans in the loop

Whilst the boom of Generative AI (GenAI) tools offers a wide range of fresh solutions to financial services firms, the newfound choice can be overwhelming. Businesses should approach deployment of AI tools responsibly and consider how they want to use them. For example, the output of GenAI tools – unlike Predictive AI solutions – is not suited for decision making or compliance purposes without verifying the data and facts it creates by a human (human in the loop).

For firms embracing AI tools as part of their day-to-day practice, it’s important to have a clear AI policy that explains the implementation of AI across the business and its responsible use. This includes documenting and evidencing processes and procedures whilst conveying the controls that are in place to maintain client safety.

Although there is currently no AI regulator, firms might expect for this to change down the line. In the meantime, firms must demonstrate their effective procedures to the FCA.

Appropriate care for customers with characteristics of vulnerability

There’s scope for AI to help identify and ensure fair treatment for customers who may be or could become vulnerable. But it’s by no means a ‘one size fits all’ approach. GenAI can perform some tasks well, whereas other responsibilities may be better suited to Predictive AI functionality. A combination of the two can be immensely powerful indeed. Such measures will help firms measure KPIs instead of relying on traditional methods like complaint data and file checking.

Accurately recording advice

There is so much to be learnt from the conversations that advisers have with their clients. And the first crucial step is to ensure accurate records are kept across 100% of conversations – which is where solutions like Recordsure’s Capture app can help.

AI can then be deployed to monitor and analyse what’s been spoken about in these conversations to provide evidential oversight for financial advisers. This approach is being adopted by many firms but there’s still a long way to go. As the FCA’s Consumer Duty outlines, firms must be able to evidence to the regulator that they are giving appropriate advice to their clients – by utilising AI, financial service firms can do this better and up to 80% faster.

Now is the time to break free from time-consuming, manual procedures and empower your talented team to concentrate on the tasks that they do best.