Financial services companies concerned about use of AI but still plan to increase spending

Almost half of financial services leaders had a positive view of AI in 2023. But despite this initial excitement, the implementation of planned initiatives this year has been sluggish.

A new report from Lucidworks finds only one in four AI projects have been deployed, similar to many of the other industries surveyed. In 2023, the most common expected impact of Gen AI for financial services was business operations improvement. The majority of deployed initiatives followed suit in 2024, however, the industry reports below average cost and revenue benefits.

Concerns about AI center around data security (45 percent) and accuracy (43 percent), this is in line with other sectors. Across the board, concerns around security, response accuracy, and costs have forced most businesses to slow down their planned initiatives and be more strategic about the balance between cost and benefit. Despite these concerns 70 percent of financial services leaders plan to increase their AI spend in 2024.

"Financial services leaders have recognized the immense potential of generative AI year over year. However, concerns around data security and accuracy are holding back deployment," says Mike Sinoway, CEO of Lucidworks. "A responsible AI-powered search solution must balance personalization with stringent data protection, adhering to regulations and prioritizing client trust. As models specialize to the industry and organizations partner with search experts to build AI strategies, we anticipate financial services organizations will see more cost and revenue benefits in the near future."

Global AI spending plans are down sharply, with only 63 percent planning increases (compared to 93 percent last year). US-based organizations remain above average though with 69 percent planning to increase AI spend across all industries.

Delayed deployment and low success rates are commonplace with only 25 percent of planned projects fully implemented across all industries. This lag is stalling anticipated ROI, with 42 percent of companies yet to see significant benefits from generative AI initiatives.

You can get the report on the Lucidworks site.

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