Nearly three quarters of UK financial services firms are now piloting the use of generative AI for things like ‘co-pilot’ employee efficiency tools, according to a UK Finance survey.
While respondents are scrambling to investigate the technology, they do not expect to see a return on their investment for more advanced use cases for between three and five years, suggests the survey of 23 companies ranging from international to mid-size banks and non-banking FS firms.
Three quarters of respondents believe they will benefit from generative AI - with the biggest opportunities expected from productivity improvement and operational effectiveness rather than customer-facing, revenue-related, use cases.
And nearly all firms are already accounting for AI risks in their control frameworks, and three out of five have already taken action to prepare for the risks of generative AI.
Jana Mackintosh, MD, payments, innovation and resilience, UK Finance, says: “What firms want now is to collaborate with policy makers and regulators on a long-term, flexible approach to regulation that can keep pace with technological change, ensuring our FS sector can guard against any risks from this technology, while safely seizing its great competitive advantages.”
Earlier this week a separate study from FintechOS found that three-quarters of executives working in financial services expect to eventually be replaced by generative AI. Despite the headline figure, the study shows an almost even split between respondents as to whether the technology is a positive development for the market - 45% said they see it as a 'friend' whereas 40% see it as a 'foe'.