Morgan Stanley Tried To Push Chatbot Created With OpenAI, But Wealth Managers Prefer Talking To A Person Instead
Investment banking giant Morgan Stanley’s wealth managers have expressed a preference for human interaction over using a chatbot for obtaining information. This revelation comes as a setback to the bank’s efforts to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into its business operations.
According to a recent report from The Information, there are murmurs within Morgan Stanley alleging that the AI chatbot developed in partnership with OpenAI is not gaining traction among its intended audience. The target audience, in this case, is the bank’s wealth managers who play a crucial role in providing investment advice.
Morgan Stanley, which is one of OpenAI’s key clients, announced a collaboration with the AI company back in March 2023. The objective was to leverage OpenAI’s technology to organize the bank’s vast knowledge base, facilitating easier access to information for wealth managers and enabling them to offer more relevant investment advice to clients.
In September of the same year, the bank officially launched an AI assistant powered by OpenAI’s GPT technology. However, the latest report suggests that wealth managers are not as enthusiastic about embracing the AI assistant as Morgan Stanley executives and OpenAI had hoped.
The unease among the bank’s executives regarding OpenAI’s course of action, particularly involving former CEO Sam Altman, has also contributed to a sense of apprehension. There were concerns about the fate of the chatbot if OpenAI were to face significant challenges. At one point, around 743 out of 770 OpenAI employees threatened to leave and join Microsoft Corp., where Altman became CEO following a potential fallout at OpenAI.
Although the scenario did not materialize and Altman has since been reinstated as OpenAI CEO, it may have prompted large businesses like Morgan Stanley to reconsider their heavy reliance on a single company’s AI infrastructure.
The reports about Morgan Stanley executives expressing frustration over the slow adoption of the AI assistant come at an interesting time. Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s chief operating officer, recently cautioned business customers against having unrealistic expectations about the immediate transformative impact of AI technology.
In an interview with CNBC, Lightcap advised businesses not to expect a quick solution that could single-handedly deliver substantial business changes, such as significant revenue growth or cost cuts worth millions of dollars. He warned against viewing AI as a silver bullet answer for addressing all corporate aspirations.
This latest development raises questions about the future of AI integration within Morgan Stanley and whether wealth managers’ preference for human interaction will outweigh the potential benefits offered by chatbot technology.
As the adoption of AI continues to evolve in the finance industry, striking the right balance between technological innovation and personalized human interaction will likely remain a key challenge for organizations like Morgan Stanley.
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