Chat-GPT geht auf die Finanzbranche los: Verlieren die «Finance Bros» nun ihre Jobs?

Open AI recently launched a new AI agent designed to perform many tasks typically handled by financial professionals. This tool is particularly concerning for entry-level employees, as it can handle tasks such as extracting data from databases, processing it in Excel, and creating PowerPoint presentations with corporate design. This routine "number-crunching" has long been a part of daily life for younger employees at banks and consulting firms.

In September, Open AI released an updated version of their Chatbot specifically tailored to the needs of financial professionals. This AI can consolidate financial data, analyze companies, process data in Excel, and generate reports and presentations all in a matter of minutes. As the tasks become more technical, they become easier to automate.

The Open AI chatbot is being introduced into a job market already under pressure due to the high number of job seekers in the banking sector, which has increased by a fifth compared to the previous year.

The developers of this technology have partnered with American banks Morgan Stanley and Evercore. According to Morgan Stanley's AI chief, Jeff McMillan, the AI agent makes each user "as intelligent as the smartest person in the firm." Ninety-eight percent of financial advisors at the large bank already use this tool. Open AI offers it as a separate module for corporate clients, based on their latest AI model, "GPT-6.0 Astra," and incorporates data from their own and specialized databases.

Swiss banks and financial services have already begun incorporating AI assistants. Andreas Venditti, from bank Vontobel, says that KI tools simplify the job, automating tasks that were previously done manually in Excel. As an investment expert, he spends much of his time reading company balance sheets and developing financial models.

AI applications could soon help make profit forecasts. While some aspects cannot be replaced by AI, such as the client meeting, the human touch in customer relations could also be fully automated. UBS even uses AI-generated avatars created in collaboration with Open AI and Synthesia to present insights to customers through videos.

UBS bank employees also use AI to prepare for client meetings. According to the large bank, nearly 90% of consulting teams in the USA use a tool called State Insights, which saves their collective preparation time by more than a thousand hours per week. UBS calls this progress in productivity, leading to significant time savings for client advisors and enabling more personalized and timely customer service.

Several Swiss financial houses have developed their own AI tools for investment analysis and customer support. Julius Baer, a private-equity specialist, believes that AI significantly increases productivity while maintaining quality. For the bank, using their own AI platform ensures the highest security and confidentiality standards.

However, handling customer data remains a particularly sensitive issue for banks, as data breaches or hacks can have devastating consequences for their reputation. Julius Baer has already noted positive effects on productivity. The Luzerner Kantonalbank, on the other hand, has not yet measured any productivity gains or cost savings.

Internal chatbot LIA is used there, but specific AI tools for financial analysis and customer support are still under consideration.