LAS VEGAS — For anyone who has been in this industry for longer than it takes to drink a cup of coffee, you’ve no doubt heard some reference to how slow companies in credit and collections have been to adopting technology. Having a conversation during last night’s cocktail reception at RMAI’s annual conference, it was noted that as recent as five years ago, companies were still struggling with embracing digital collections, a situation which hasn’t changed much for some companies. But beyond embracing digital collections, the rapid interest and adoption of artificial intelligence technology is showing that the industry’s adoption and the pace of adoption, is accelerating at a rate that the industry has never seen before.
Asking those attending the conference what they are most excited about, many of them referenced the doors that AI can open, in terms of making back-office functions more efficient while also enhancing customer-facing interactions between collectors and consumers.
RMAI dedicated two sessions worth of content on the topic of AI yesterday, and the speakers talked about the guardrails that companies need to put in place to safely use AI tools, along with some of the other processes that should be implemented.
One of the major stumbling blocks to companies adopting AI on a broader scale is that creditors remain reluctant to allow debt buyers and collection agencies to use the tools, because they are fearful of the worst-case scenario with data getting outside of an organization and what could happen if a tool hallucinates and shares inaccurate or incomplete information with a consumer.
The interest in deploying artificial intelligence is a great indicator for the industry that it sees the value that technology can bring and is committed to using it wherever it can. Ironing out the kinks to get compliance on board and creditors on board will likely become easier over time and as its usage becomes more commonplace in and around the financial services industry. Barring any unforeseen setbacks, could it be possible that the industry has shed its technophobe reputation once and for all?
