Alexa now Gives Better Advice Than Top Consultants

European clients of UBS wealth management can now rely on Amazon’s voice-controlled AI, Alexa, to give them financial advice via Echo.

Amazon’s AI is taking the high-tech world by storm, and it certainly helps that Alexa’s many iterations and devices give the impression of Alexa being everywhere.

In fact, Amazon Inc. has made several partnerships with prestigious brands in different economic sectors to slip its smart assistant, Alexa, into every corner of our daily lives. Then, occasionally, Amazon puts their Alexa-enabled devices on sale for cheap–further incentivizing Alexa’s proliferation.

Alexa, the Ubiquitous AI Butler

Alexa, the AI “soul” of the Echo, is a voice-controlled assistant that allows you to browse stores, get the latest information, weather forecast or order a pizza, a taxi or, of course, products delivered by Amazon.

Amazon has never published sales figures for the Echo, but the investment firm Mizuho estimated that Amazon would sell 8.6 million units in 2016.

Mizuho estimates that, by 2020, Amazon would sell 41.3 million units, and could earn $11 billion USD: $4 billion through sales of the Echo device itself, including Tap and Dot, and $7 billion through purchases on its website.

At first, Amazon only offered its smart assistant as part of its Echo speaker. But the e-commerce company now wants Alexa to be available in a multitude of devices and platforms.

Amazon has teamed up with many large brands to integrate its app into their products.

Alexa can be found on board cars (with Ford Motor Company or Volkswagen), in washing machines (Whirlpool), domestic robots and refrigerators (with LG), in Neato and Samsung vacuum cleaners, and in Huawei smartphones and Lenovo speakers–Alexa is making great use of its thousands of skills.

It was only a matter of time before the AI platform waded into the financial consulting sphere.

Alexa as a Financial Expert and Consultant

Last year, UBS, the Swiss investment bank, announced a pilot program to use Amazon’s Alexa as a chatbot able to communicate on economic and financial issues.

Amazon and UBS partnership translated into a new service, called “Ask UBS,” which is available for select European clients of the wealth management firm.

UBS’s goal is to enable its clients to conduct a discussion with Alexa on financial matters, and ask her economic queries that they’d normally ask the firm or check the web for help with.

UBS wants its new service to become an innovative way to bring financial expertise in an attractive and practical way, directly into people’s everyday lives.

This is not Alexa’s first foray into economic services, though.

Last year, Fidelity Investments released a skill for Alexa that allows its clients to check their account balances through Echo.

Customers of Liberty Mutual, the insurance company, can get insurance information and insurance quotes through Alexa.

Capital One also allows its clients to use Alexa to check account balances, and manage their money (pay bills).

When would you consider using Alexa to help steer your financial future?