A new survey of financial services firms in the United States, conducted by Bain & Company, has found that firms are benefiting from an average 20 per cent productivity boost in software development and customer service after deploying artificial intelligence (AI) powered tools.
“Although many companies are making massive investments in AI, questions remain about their return on investment (ROI),” the firm writes in a recent note, AI in Financial Services Survey Shows Productivity Gains Across the Board. “Large banks, insurers and others in the sector continue to invest more heavily than firms in other industries. Issues around risk, regulatory compliance, data security, and privacy and governance have hindered the pace of adoption.”
Better customer service
The productivity gains reported by the 109 financial services firms surveyed include more rapid development of software and better customer service. “Given these gains, firms are maintaining heavy investment in the technology,” they add. The report also looks at a controlled trial analyzing the effects of generative AI on high-skilled coding work across three large companies – it found a 26 per cent increase in the number of completed tasks using assistance tools.
Financial services firms with at least $5-billion (figures in U.S. dollars) in revenue are investing an average of $22.1-million in 2024. Comparatively speaking, other industries outside of financial services say they will have spent $17.6-million on average. “The top decile of firms are investing an average of more than $100-million in 2024,” they write.
They say 70 per cent of the survey’s respondents also report talent gaps in areas of technical, risk and compliance. The report recommends insurers maintain a dialogue with regulators and develop deeper expertise at the intersection of data, regulation, security and privacy. “That will entail more deliberate governance around regulatory compliance, task assignments and individual roles,” they write.
