One of the most promising and closely followed areas of fintech in recent months has been the application of artificial intelligence to deliver personalized financial services.

Such solutions, often referred to as ChatBots or robo advisors, offer a rare opportunity to transcend hyperbole and truly transform the provision of financial services.

Consider retirement planning and investment advice, areas to which such solutions are frequently connected.

It’s no secret that a disturbing percentage of Americans have insufficient savings to cover their post-earning years. This is likely the No. 1 area where financial institutions could step up to improve their customers’ financial lives.

Yet that very lack of accumulated balances is the complicating factor that keeps most financial institutions away: A shortage of assets means a shortage of fee opportunities, so these low-margin customers are shunted to self-service models.

And because these are the customers most likely to be intimidated by financial planning, they become frozen into inaction—and the cycle perpetuates.

 

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