Client experience at the forefront of AI opportunities in asset management

Language services experts from RWS’s Financial Services team returned to New York once again last month to join The Summit for Asset Management (TSAM). They were accompanied by colleagues from other areas of the RWS portfolio that also support the myriad opportunities in asset management to drive digital transformation in critical areas like artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent content management.

It was the first of these, AI, in which we were able to present an introduction to the ways in which we are supporting clients in this fast-moving technology area to open new avenues for improved client engagement. Vasagi Kothandapani, SVP of our Enterprise Internationalization Group which specializes in the delivery of AI data services to some of the world’s best known companies, joined an expert panel on the subject of “Revamping customer experience – paving the way to superior client interaction through AI and digitization.” Alongside representatives from asset managers Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and Apollo Global Management and data platform provider Kurtosys, Vasagi covered some of the exciting areas where our asset management clients can begin their AI journey.

Even focusing just on the narrow area of personalized client experiences, the array of possible use cases was vast. Some of the most common that we are discussing with clients are:

• Chatbots and virtual assistants.
• Personalized recommendations.
• Natural language understanding (NLU).
• Sentiment analysis.
• Customer segmentation.
• Predictive analytics.
• Voice and speech recognition.
• Data security and privacy.
• Automated content generation.
• Feedback analysis and continuous improvement.

There are mutual benefits to both clients and their customers of exploring these opportunities but, at a high level, we expect our clients to witness improved recurring revenue streams, enhanced customer loyalty and a stronger competitive position in their market.

However, despite the enormous promise of AI, machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP), there are of course widely-publicized ethical considerations too. Aside from mandatory compliance considerations, especially in heavily-regulated industries like financial services, clients must also navigate issues like transparency and accuracy, data privacy and security, bias and fairness, consent and accountability and monitoring and auditing.

Each of these in their own right can be challenging, but combined they can seem overwhelming. To address them, firms should develop clear policies and guidelines, invest in robust training and monitoring, and prioritize user trust and satisfaction to successfully implement AI-driven customer support. By addressing these proactively and providing transparent, secure and fair solutions, asset managers can build strong partnerships and deliver excellent customer service while comprehensively maintaining ethical standards.

Perhaps sometimes seen as laggardly in delivering best practice customer experience, the asset management industry now has the opportunity to accelerate progress in client engagement. Indeed, the door has opened to proactively engage with clients, anticipate their needs and provide a more personalized experience by using predictive analytics. Firms could utilize AI-driven analytics models to deliver transformative improvement in critical areas that have challenged firms for years, including:

• Client behavior and preference prediction.
• Personalized investment recommendations.
• Client lifecycle management.
• Cross-selling and up-selling.
• Performance monitoring and reporting.

These have the potential to boost revenue, improve client satisfaction and establish a stronger market presence. Of course, to evaluate the long-term impact of AI and digitization on client relationships, it's essential to maintain a comprehensive and ongoing measurement strategy. Firms should regularly review their data and adapt strategies based on the insights gained to continuously enhance the client experience and drive ROI.

Despite all the positive opportunity from AI-powered client engagement, a major problem might still remain: reticence from clients to embrace digital changes to their investment experience. This challenge requires a thoughtful approach that prioritizes client reassurance; as well as clear communications strategies, firms should consider investing in client education, dedicated support teams, personalized assistance (including human intervention) and regular feedback channels.

In recognizing client concerns, and ensuring a sense of empowerment and control, firms can deliver a smoother transition and preserve positive client relationships. Creating an AI-powered, cutting-edge customer experience strategy is not without its challenges but by maintaining a positive, proactive and adaptive mindset, customer service leaders can position their firm to thrive in this rapidly-evolving technological landscape.

To develop a programme that supports this progressive approach to customer experience, RWS offers AI data services that help you to train your models to function effectively and remain bias-free and trustworthy. These include:

• Data collection and generation - for any data type (text, audio, image and video), we can acquire the content you need for AI training anywhere in the world.
• Data annotation and labelling - our certified experts deliver the highest quality of transcription, annotation, classification and sentiment analysis so that you can rapidly fine-tune your AI models.
• Data validation and review - we evaluate and moderate AI training content for relevance and quality, as well as minimize the risk of unwelcome bias.
• Generative AI services - generative AI models must be trained and fine-tuned with domain, company and/or locale-specific content or data. The services include prompt engineering, reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), red teaming and locale support.

Contact one of our specialists to find out how we can get you started on your AI-powered customer experience transformation.