Ananda Kautz (left) is head of innovation, payments and digital at ABBL. Laurent Marochini (right) is chair of ABBL’s FinTech and Innovation Forum and head of innovation at Société Générale Securities Services Luxembourg. Photos: ABBL. Montage: Maison Moderne

Ananda Kautz (left) is head of innovation, payments and digital at ABBL. Laurent Marochini (right) is chair of ABBL’s FinTech and Innovation Forum and head of innovation at Société Générale Securities Services Luxembourg. Photos: ABBL. Montage: Maison Moderne

Three-fourths of respondents who participated in a survey carried out by the Luxembourg Banker’s Association (ABBL) said they consider ChatGPT as an opportunity for their business, compared to a quarter who view the generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool as a threat.

ABBL’s FinTech and Innovation Forum, supported by Société Générale, conducted the survey in April 2023. Forty-two respondents representing a range of companies, including banks, consulting companies, law firms, payment providers and software vendors, responded to the survey. 

The survey asked participants about their overall perception towards ChatGPT, a text-generating AI chatbot that has taken the world by storm since it was made available to the public in November 2022. 

75% of respondents said they viewed ChatGPT as an opportunity for their entities rather than a threat. Looking at respondents from the banking sector only the number is slightly lower. 71% see ChatGPT as an opportunity. 

Looking at chatbots more generally, 57% of respondents said they plan to implement AI-powered chatbots for specific use cases. For banks, expectations for technology implementation plans were even higher. 88% said they planned to implement AI-powered chatbots.

, head of innovation, payments and digital at ABBL, said the results were an encouraging sign for potential use cases in the banking industry involving AI-powered chatbots. “The fact that we could eventually have the support of automated tools to improve risk management, IT coding and other processes is good news for the banking industry.”

Most banks allow staff to use ChatGPT

The survey results show a majority of companies allow staff to use the tool completely or partially. Only a quarter of respondents said ChatGPT had been blocked, although there were more restrictions among banks with 38% of banks reporting a complete ban.

Kautz said the figures reported from banks were better than anticipated. “It was interesting to see that many financial institutions allow their employees to use ChatGPT, either completely or partially. Not for confidential and internal data. This is prohibited. So, what you see is natural guidelines for any kind of professional in the financial sector,” Kautz said.

More education needed

However, the data showed that familiarity with ChatGPT among senior management was relatively low. Respondents said only 28% of senior managers were very familiar with the AI tool. The figures were even lower for banks with just 7% of senior management being very familiar with the technology, according to those surveyed.

Laurent Marochini, chair of ABBL’s FinTech and Innovation Forum and head of innovation at Société Générale Securities Services Luxembourg, said informing senior management about the benefits of ChatGPT would support greater adoption. “There’s certainly a case to be made that we need to raise awareness and educate people about the benefits of generative AI tools in improving processes.”

Adoption challenges lie ahead

Marochini said adopting generative AI tools like ChatGPT in business processes wouldn’t be a seamless process. Nearly half of respondents said there was a lack of necessary data and infrastructure in place to effectively implement ChatGPT or other AI-powered chatbots.

“There’s still a lot of challenges regarding cybersecurity and data that need to be addressed. Chat GPT must also be properly integrated and customised for each company for it to fulfil its potential,” Marochini said.

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