Every decade of investing brings its own distinct challenges and opportunities. Nonetheless, the saying “history never repeats itself, but it always rhymes” is often a
AI and the Promise of a Better Client Experience
Published Date : July 31, 2025
Press 3 for customer service. Please go to our website for your requested information. Hi, I’m Alex, let’s get you started with a chat. Over the last twenty years, the use of such automated phones, deflections to websites and ”friendly’’ chatbots have all degraded the basic customer experience and consumers are surely skeptical of any technology that proposes to further enhance the service they receive. At the risk of sounding foolish in the future, AI is different. While it’s perfectly logical to have concerns about security, privacy and algorithms, there will be numerous benefits—both seen and unseen—that wealth management clients will derive from AI. Specifically, many routine and required administrative and compliance tasks can be quickly and accurately delivered, freeing up valuable time for professionals to work directly with clients on other matters and their portfolios. While previous technological improvements simply shifted the burdensome labor from employees to consumers, AI removes burdens from everyone. Speed of execution—always an integral part of financial services—is also greatly enhanced by AI with untold calculations completed at rates unmatched by humans.
To date, perhaps the most visible presence of AI is the notetaker application, that third party that joins a video chat or on an iPhone during a client meeting. Notetaker tools can parse a full conversation in minutes and propose next steps which in turn allow advisors and planners to focus on value-added client interactions. For collaborative environments, with either robust internal teams or with outside attorneys and CPAs, information can be rapidly shared, and actions delegated.
Investment management offers a vast and fertile territory for AI, where the goal is to generate greater after-tax returns with less risk. With AI assistance, portfolios can be scoured for opportunities to rebalance between assets and employ tax efficient strategies in seconds. While AI can’t yet tell you if a butterfly flapping its wings in Thailand will impact the price of your Apple stock, it can review large amounts of data to understand cross-correlations and stress test portfolios.
One common worry based on the historical outcomes of the aforementioned client-facing technologies is that treasured human interactions, especially those with a well-versed advisor, will be replaced by AI. More likely, though, the technology will boost the quality of that experience as complex financial planning involving dynamic tax and estate laws, stock options, liquidity needs and multi-generational inputs will be more easily processed and considered with the help of enhanced computing power.
For many years, technological advances in wealth management and investment research have provided significant increases in general service offerings at lower costs and faster speeds, while also meeting ever-growing regulatory requirements. Trading commissions have been reduced to near zero as have most index fund fees; meanwhile, alternative investments are more widespread and available, money transfers from smartphones are typical, and the level of financial planning offerings around retirement, philanthropy, education, taxes, and estate have never been higher. The individual investor has, on the whole, unquestionably benefited from technology.
At Sand Hill, with our roots in Silicon Valley, we have always seen tech as an ally to our clients, and we enthusiastically utilize it to enhance—but never replace—our people. We do, however, adopt new technologies with rules in mind. It must noticeably improve the client experience, value security and privacy, and always meet our industry’s regulatory requirements. Informed by these guardrails, Sand Hill looks forward to adopting AI in a responsible manner.
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