Morgan Stanley is broadening the utilization of OpenAI’s generative artificial intelligence tools in its prestigious investment banking and trading department, according to sources familiar with the matter. The company initiated an AI assistant powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT tech for its wealth management advisors in early 2023 and has recently started implementing a version known as AskResearchGPT in its institutional securities group, as stated by Katy Huberty, Morgan Stanley’s global director of research.
The AI tool enables users to extract information from the vast array of Morgan Stanley’s research, including stocks, commodities, industry trends, and regions. This significantly simplifies the otherwise complicated task of discerning insights from the over 70,000 reports the bank generates yearly.
“We see it as a game changer from a productivity standpoint, both for our research analysts and our colleagues across institutional securities,” Huberty asserted. The tool assists staff in accessing high-quality, insightful information as efficiently as possible.
OpenAI’s generative AI technology swiftly gained traction among Wall Street’s biggest players since its introduction as a viral consumer app in late 2022. Morgan Stanley reports that nearly half of its 80,000 employees utilize generative AI tools created with OpenAI. Meanwhile, roughly 60% of JPMorgan Chase’s 316,043 employees have access to a platform utilizing OpenAI’s models, noted an anonymous source familiar with the situation. OpenAI, the San Francisco-based startup, recently secured funding at a $157 billion valuation.
At Morgan Stanley, a global leader in investment banking and trading, employees have been increasingly utilizing AskResearchGPT, a tool that considerably reduces the time it takes for a salesperson to respond to client inquiries.
The bank aims to further promote the adoption of the tool due to the productivity benefits it provides. The tool is easily accessible as it is integrated within workers’ browsers as well as Microsoft Teams and Outlook programs.
Huberty often fields questions about whether AI could one day replace the analysts who produce the vast amount of research published under Morgan Stanley’s brand. However, she believes that the human touch in decision-making and relationship management, crucial aspects of the analyst, sales and trading, or corporate banker roles, cannot be replaced by AI in the near future.
