Use of AI Tools May Be Driven by Competitive Concerns, as 24% of Respondents Believe Their Main Competitors are Heavily Invested in AI
84% of financial services firms are already using artificial intelligence (AI), with an additional 14% planning to do so soon, reveals new research into AI adoption within the financial services sector by Vesper Technologies (Vespertec), a leading specialist in high-performance data centre infrastructure. 55% of respondents acknowledge that concerns about competitors gaining an advantage are spurring their own AI initiatives—with 69% and 24% of respondents respectively believing their competitors to be using, or heavily invested, in AI.
Looking ahead, the survey indicates that 57% of financial services firms plan to allocate more budget to AI hardware throughout 2024, with 43% considering increases in their AI hardware budget by 10-25%. More firms indicated a preference for NVIDIA as their AI hardware provider than all its major competitors combined. This reflects the industry’s trust in NVIDIA to deliver high-performance, customisable AI solutions at scale.
When it comes to use cases, Generative AI is by far the most widely used form of AI among financial services firms, with 55% of AI-adopting organisations integrating this technology into their operations. The next four most deployed AI applications include:
- Virtual agents/chatbots: 36%
- Predictive analytics: 34%
- Fraud detection: 33%
- Text analytics: 33%
Decision-makers believe AI’s most significant impacts within the financial services sector will be in improving operational efficiency (24%), fostering business innovation (24%), and enhancing scalability (17%). The sector’s spending plans for 2024 and beyond align closely with these areas, as 59% of firms plan to invest in AI to increase operational efficiency and 43% to boost innovation.
“When speaking to customers and partners in the financial services sector, we’re seeing a huge appetite for the latest, most competitive AI solutions,” said Allan Kaye, CEO and Managing Director of Vesper Technologies. “The sector isn’t just experimenting with AI anymore; it’s actively embedding it at the core of day-to-day operations. We’re proud to work with firms pushing the boundaries in this field, ensuring they have the cutting-edge infrastructure needed to manage and scale these demanding AI workloads seamlessly.”