More than a third of financial services leaders use AI at work, KPMG finds

More than a third (36%) of senior leaders in the financial services sector use generative AI at least once a day at work, according to new research from KPMG UK.

Of all senior professionals in the sector, CEOs are the most frequent users (30%) of generative AI at work, using it up to three times a day mostly for brainstorming (50%) and help with speech writing and presentations (46%).

Despite more than 60% of leaders using generative AI at least once a week in their day jobs, almost a third (31%) aren’t confident that the business overall is harnessing the potential of the technology.

Today, financial planning is where most leaders (44%) say generative AI is being used in their businesses, followed by customer data analytics (38%) and fraud detection (35%).  Over the next three years, most leaders call out financial planning (40%), marketing (37%) and fraud detection (36%) as where the tech will be used.

Using generative AI to help fight financial crime aligns with concerns related to its use for criminal intent, as highlighted in another recent KPMG study, which showed that this is the biggest concern amongst UK adults.

Half (50%) of sector leaders are using the technology to access financial advice. City leaders are also turning to the technology for health advice (30%), support with product/service purchasing (29%) and research into how sustainable companies and products are (29%). 

However, 35% said they needed more training, almost a third (32%) said they don’t trust the technology and 29% doubt its effectiveness.  

Karim Haji, global and UK head of financial services at KPMG, said: “The widespread use of generative AI among financial services leadership highlights the awareness of its potential to transform the sector. 

“But there are knowledge gaps in how generative AI can be used, which could be impacting confidence and trust in the technology. For the potential of generative AI to be fully realised, organisations need to ensure that the skills required for creating value with AI are built via training, including among leadership.”

Haji concluded: “Clearly there is still uncertainty surrounding the regulation and ethics of the technology when it comes to serving and protecting customers, which the sector will look to the regulators and the government to help navigate. Despite some of the knowledge barriers, leaders must continue to get to grips with generative AI as a lever to long-term productivity, growth and competitiveness.”