In late 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven, natural-language processing tool that offered the public the ability to conduct seemingly human conversations with a chatbot and generate a seemingly endless array of sophisticated content, including essays, emails, computer code, meal plans, fictional stories, and song lyrics, to name just a few. ChatGPT's introduction set off a wide-ranging public debate around both the transformative power of AI as well as the potential (and largely unpredictable) threats it may pose. While it could be decades before we know those answers, at the moment, professionals across every industry, including financial advice, are working to learn how they can leverage this new and remarkable tool to make their practices more efficient.
In this guest post, David Ortiz, the Managing Partner at the Financial Chef, shares his personal journey around how he gained a practical understanding of some advanced ChatGPT features, how he customized it to generate responses specifically tailored to the needs of financial advisors, and how he's implemented those and other AI-driven tools in his business.
With a background as a software executive, David was drawn to the potential of ChatGPT, prompting him to learn how he could use it to enhance his capabilities as an advisor. After delving into instructional content on YouTube University, he decided that the ideal use for AI in his practice was to improve the processes around client meetings, including generating summaries, extracting pertinent data, creating action items, and staying compliant.
By learning to design "custom GPTs" to create individual bots that could perform specific tasks, David created (and has made publicly available) an advisor-focused tool he calls the "Client Meeting Summarizer", which processes advisor/client meeting transcripts to gather, summarize, and organize key information from any meeting or call through various AI prompts. One of his most used prompts processes discovery meeting transcripts and allows users to gather, summarize, and organize key information, including demographic data, topics discussed, key points, action items, and next steps. Another is designed to extract information from data gathering and financial planning meeting transcripts for easy entry into financial planning software and also to summarize key points and action steps. A 3rd prompt reviews annual review meeting transcripts, capturing client quotes from key review areas, which can then be fed to a CRM. Finally, a 4th prompt reviews transcripts from the perspective of a compliance officer to ensure that David and his team adhere to regulatory standards and their own internal policies.
Additionally, AI tools have allowed David to transform what were once monologue-based planning meetings into interactive, engaging dialogues. By using a mindmap plugin, David and his team create high-level visuals that give clients a clear understanding of how their financial plans were constructed, how their specific issues are being addressed, and the value that David is delivering on an ongoing basis.
Ultimately, David has found that integrating AI into his practice has not only helped him become more efficient, but has also allowed him to ask better questions, gain a deeper understanding of his clients' needs, and hone his own listening skills. The net result has been higher client satisfaction and engagement, better-tailored plans that address each client's unique goals, and greater overall efficiency in his team's planning process. For David, the real promise of AI is in allowing financial advicers to foster deeper and more meaningful relationships with their clients, helping them be better (and more successful) at their craft!
