Financial services employees welcome growth of AI and new technologies

New research reveals that the majority (52%) of financial services employees feel positive or very positive about the growth of AI, and 62% say learning to use new technologies increases their motivation at work. More than half (56%) are also confident they have the necessary skills to work with more AI tools.

The research, which polled 500 financial services employees (banking and insurance) in the UK and Ireland, was commissioned by payroll and HR software provider, Zellis, and suggests most employees are set to embrace new technologies as adoption increases across the banking and insurance industries.

Other notable findings show that 42% of respondents believe AI will help them to learn new skills, a figure that rises to 60% amongst those who work for larger financial services organisations (+1,000 employees). Thirty-eight percent also believe new technologies will increase their productivity and efficiency at work.

Financial services employees are also more comfortable with the idea of using AI for certain tasks over others. Across the board, respondents are most confident using it to recommend products and services (60%), perform admin tasks such as note taking (58%), and review documents and applications (57%).

Confidence drops notably when it comes to using AI for higher risk activities, however: those who work in banking would be least confident in using AI to make investment decisions or inform lending agreements (36% and 28% respectively), and insurance workers are least comfortable in using it to inform underwriting decisions (41%) or handle customer queries (38%).

Asset Finance Connect’s research shows that financial services companies are particularly interested in how they can apply AI in their businesses, especially to perform routine data-processing tasks (which can be done more efficiently with technology, giving a better customer experience) so that team members can be better utilised in the business to add extra value-added services where a personal touch is needed.

However, many businesses will not be applying AI to their processes immediately; instead focusing their spend in 2024 and for the foreseeable future on technology to enhance the customer journey.

Overall, the Zellis research presents a positive outlook for financial services companies looking to increase their adoption and application of new technologies in the future, though some concerns remain: one in ten feels very negative about the growth of AI, 22% believe the adoption of AI will create difficulties and challenges, and nearly a quarter (23%) are not confident they have the necessary skills to work with new technologies.

Commenting on the findings, Rebecca Mullins, Director of HCM Solutions at Zellis, said: “This research confirms that the majority of financial services employees are primed to embrace new technologies, and that spells good news for the industry’s future success. AI is creating opportunities for banks and building societies to enhance customer experiences through personalisation, while insurance companies are leveraging AI to gather and assess data more quickly for use in decision making and underwriting.”

Mullins continued: “The opportunities are immense but to thrive in this shifting landscape, employers must now focus on identifying how and where to optimise outcomes as new tools and platforms are introduced.”