Morgan Stanley is introducing a chatbot driven by OpenAI's most recent technology to assist the bank

Morgan Stanley is introducing a chatbot driven by OpenAI's most recent technology to assist the bank's financial advisors, as reported by CNBC. The bank has been experimenting with the AI tool with 300 advisors and intends to launch it more broadly in the upcoming months, as stated by Jeff McMillan, the head of analytics and data for the firm's wealth management division.

Image credit: Reuters

McMillan discussed the tool, which has been in development for the past year, saying it was created to assist the bank's 16,000 advisors in accessing the abundant research and data available to them.

Jeff McMillan, the head of analytics, data and innovation at Morgan Stanley's wealth management division plans to roll it out to a wider audience in the coming months. This move follows the success of OpenAI's ChatGPT, which wowed the world by generating responses that sounded like they were from a human. Morgan Stanley is one of the biggest players in wealth management with more than $4.2 trillion in client assets. The impact AI has had and will have has been documented for a while, but the success of ChatGPT has made more people aware of the potential benefits and risks of the technology.

The goal is to allow advisors to “be as knowledgeable as the smartest person” in their firm. He added that the tool is like having “our chief strategy officer sitting next to you when you’re on the phone with a client.” Generative AI has been growing in popularity and is being actively pursued by tech giants, though it has its drawbacks. Last month, Morgan Stanley analysts noted that ChatGPT occasionally generates erroneous answers that seem credible.

Similar to ChatGPT, Morgan Stanley has created a new tool that utilizes GPT 4 technology to instantly answer questions for advisors. However, this tool has been specifically designed to generate responses only on the 100,000 or so pieces of research that Morgan Stanley has vetted, which should reduce the risk of errors. In addition, the bank has implemented a process of human checking to further ensure accuracy. According to the bank's representative, "We’re trying to actually break the platform" by human testing. With the combination of high-quality information, improved models, and an ongoing monitoring process, the bank is confident in its new tool.

McMillan's latest move to further integrate technology into the financial advising industry has sparked fears that machines may eventually be able to take over certain tasks and replace humans. However, he believes that when it comes to dealing with complex clients, machines cannot replace the human touch. “You cannot replace empathy with clever math," he said. "Technology can help us with certain tasks, but it cannot replace us.”