The role of artificial intelligence in the financial services industry has evolved dramatically since its initial adoption decades ago to automate data entry. AI-enabled technologies have vaulted from the back-office operations to client-facing, front-of-the-house actions.
Machine learning capabilities have been developed and successfully adopted to address more sophisticated operations. The industry uses AI to power its virtual assistants, predictive analytics and risk assessments. Last year, AI took what may have been the largest leap in advancement—adopting a near sentient-like characteristic most notably in OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot—paving the way for AI to be embraced by more departments, including marketing.
While still relatively new, AI-supported chatbots have the potential to transform how financial advisory firms generate business leads, engage with clients and turbocharge other marketing efforts.
Multiplier effect
AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT can enhance productivity and outreach for financial firms with small or nonexistent marketing departments. This technology can help produce website pages, brochures, blogs, emails, subject lines and thought leadership headlines. And it can produce this content with language optimized for search engines, raising visibility and internet rankings. ChatGPT produced suggested homepage language that ranked for 300 SEO keywords compared with 20 in the original text.
One query to an AI-language program could produce multiple marketing emails compared with a production time of days by a marketing department tasked with other assignments. Content can be tailored for specific campaigns such as a Facebook post intended to engage 70-year-old retirees.
Since AI-enabled chatbots access information from machine learning algorithms, and preprogrammed scripts, it can function as a mini focus group providing thought leadership topic ideas by analyzing data shown to be of interest to financial advisors.
ROI
For now, most AI-enabled chatbots are available at no cost and they can produce results equal to one or two in-house copywriters. In addition to saving time, financial advisors and firms can leverage the technology to potentially generate income.
We have successfully created website pages that generated measurable business leads. Our previous content generated 20 leads and the AI-generated marketing copy provided more than 80.
Client engagement and retention has also increased when we utilize AI-generated content.
Maintain healthy skepticism
As recently reported, AI-powered chatbots can produce disturbing responses. The content the technology provides is fallible. It requires human review to help ensure relevancy, resonance and accuracy. Marketing teams and financial firms interested in leveraging AI-enabled service should conduct due diligence in understanding how the technology works and "learns." There is a bit of art and science to creating the prompts that generate the most relevant results. Keep in mind that AI-generated content can sound just like that, AI-generated content. Consider using paraphrasing tools or a human editor to help avoid AI detectors.
Free AI-powered chatbots, including OpenAI's ChatGPT, Microsoft's Sydney, Writesonic's ChatSonic and Jasper AI's Jasper, can provide financial firms with the leverage needed to market their advisors and services with little capital outlay. The programs are a starting point for brainstorming email language, thought leadership topics and website content, but human intervention is still required to review and refine the results.
The robots aren't taking over the world for now, but they have certainly altered how it will operate.
Erika Wilson is director of marketing, and Richard Hanna is social media specialist for Sound Income Group, a Florida-based diversified financial services firm.