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city is Big bet on AI In its wealth unit, that also includes unveiling a new AI-powered advisor.
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The bank’s wealth tech head said agents’ recall across the industry is still limited.
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He predicts that AI tools will eventually help maintain more continuous relationships with customers.
Citi recently added a high-profile new wealth advisor to its team – and she’s AI-generated.
Last week, Citi unveiled “Citi Sky,” a 24-hour AI-powered wealth advisor that will begin available to some customers this summer. They’ll be able to ask personalized financial questions and market insights from the man in the blue blazer and blonde city sky. Andy Sieg, Citi’s head of wealth, predicted in a press release that the tool will “transform the model of wealth management,” becoming more intuitive “over time,” the bank said.
Deependra MalhotraThe company’s wealth technology head, who was involved in developing the tool, said memory is a current limitation for AI agents in assets, both in the moment and long term. He was not talking specifically about City Sky, but rather the broader wealth management industry.
“There is a short-term memory: how long can you have this conversation before hallucinations start?” he asked while speaking at a panel for New York Fintech Week on Tuesday. New algorithms will likely help summarize conversations in real time, he said, so agents can talk for longer periods of time.
“The second is the ability to have long-term memory, and that’s about almost all conversations: all the clicks, all the things we know about our clients, transactions,” he said, adding that, for example, advisors keep track of personal, financial and political events.
Malhotra said agents who remember and have consistent interactions with clients will help wealth advisors be more productive and retain more relationships.
“That’s nirvana,” he said, noting that memory abilities are increasing.
Such constant awareness can expand the number of clients an advisor can effectively serve, he said, adding that these tools are all about “productivity and scale.”
Malhotra said Citi still plans to hire more wealth advisors, a point Sieg also made when announcing Citi Sky, which was developed with technology from Google Cloud and Google DeepMind.
Throughout the wealth management industry, AI is being deployed to automate tedious work, personalize advice and help advisors cover more clients. For example, Bank of America has launched a tool that helps its advisors prepare for, conduct, and follow up on client meetings.
