Some of the key impacts AI is having on our everyday finances

The Bay Street Financial District is shown in Toronto on Friday, August 5, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, its uses and applications grow even wider. Many people are already using tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google's Bard or Bing Chat to help them write emails, research new subjects and brainstorm business names.

While AI tools are excellent for administrative tasks, the underlying technology goes much deeper. A great example is how AI-assisted camera systems have been used to fight Canadian wildfires.

AI tools are also revolutionizing the financial system by providing deep insights and dynamic recommendations. Below, I’ll outline some of the key impacts that AI is having on our everyday finances.

MACHINE LEARNING AND FINANCE

Before today's sophisticated AI tools, the financial sector relied on complex algorithms to process information and make recommendations. These algorithms were used for a number of situations, such as:

• approving loan applications;
• business acquisitions; and
• projecting investment profits.

These early financial algorithms were rule-based and operated under specific, predetermined criteria. For instance, if an individual’s credit score, income and debt were within a certain threshold, they might be approved for a loan.

While useful, the problem was that these algorithms were static, mostly operating in black-and-white scenarios.

Today’s modern AI financial tools are far removed from traditional algorithms. Instead of relying on a fixed set of rules, AI systems are capable of learning from vast amounts of data, allowing them to refine their strategies over time.

Machine learning lets these tools analyze patterns in user behaviour, market trends and many other variables, allowing them to make more dynamic, personalized recommendations.

One of the most prominent examples of this is RBC's NOMI AI. The bank’s AI not only provides valuable insights to lenders and financial advisors but also provides useful tools for customers, including:

• automated saving;
• budget calculation; and
• personal financial insights.

BMO has also been using AI in some of its investment tools to help provide advice to some of its customers. 

HOW AI IS USED IN THE FINANCIAL WORLD

The transition from conventional algorithms and old-fashioned math-by-hand to AI-driven tools allows for more intuitive and adaptive financial planning. This allows consumers, lenders, businesses and investors to make more informed decisions and automate processes that once required manual input.

Here are some noteworthy ways AI is being used in the financial world.

AI budgeting tools

By analyzing spending patterns, AI budgeting tools can help consumers categorize their expenses, identify financial behaviours and offer tips to reduce spending and optimize saving.

These tools adapt to each user’s behaviour and may ask users about their financial goals, offering insights to help reach them. Users may also be able to set automated reminders to ensure that they don’t miss bill payments or overspend their budget.

AI-assisted investing

Instead of relying solely on human judgment, AI-assisted investment tools are able to analyze vast amounts of financial data at high speeds to identify market trends, assess risks, and make predictions.

Commonly referred to as "robo-advisors," these platforms leverage machine learning and perform detailed market analysis that attempts to make investment decisions that evolve as quickly as the market.

There have also been some interesting recent comparisons that have shown that ChatGPT might do a better job at picking stocks than professional investment fund managers.

AI and business management

Business management often involves lots of complex administrative tasks, which can be simplified with the help of AI business management software. Some great examples of how AI can be used to help in the business world include:

• Inventory management: AI can track inventory, create algorithms to predict inventory depletion and place automated orders to ensure that a business rarely runs out of stock.
• Loss prevention: AI-assisted surveillance systems can analyze real-time video to identify suspicious activity, allowing businesses to prevent theft.
• Budgeting and spending: AI tools can help businesses keep track of their spending, profits, losses, payroll and more, offering insights the business can use to become more efficient.
• Employee tools: Employees within an organization can use AI-assisted tools to speed up their work process, increasing their efficiency and output. A great example of this is in the coding world, where programmers can use AI tools to write and test large blocks of code, allowing them to do in minutes what previously would have taken hours.

AI-assisted security and fraud prevention

AI models can be trained to identify and alert consumers and businesses of security risks and potential fraud attempts so they can be prevented.

For example, the Bank of Canada has been testing the efficacy of AI systems to prevent fraud within its high-value payment system.

WILL AI REPLACE FINANCIAL ADVISORS?

The reality is that AI-assisted financial tools still have a long way to go before they’re able to completely replace a financial advisor. 

While AI systems are constantly being improved, the technology is still in its infancy. You'll notice periodic errors if you spend enough time playing with AI language models like ChatGPT. Sometimes, the errors are simple (an inaccurate date or name); other times, the errors are outright fallacy.

Errors aside, though, AI tools can be incredibly useful. From helping you budget to analyzing your spending habits, managing your personal finances has never been easier. However, double-checking its recommendations to verify accuracy is always a good idea.