American Express (Amex) is planning to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) services for various purposes, including transaction validation, credit approval, customer sentiment analysis, and financial predictions. However, according to a report by VentureBeat, Amex does not currently have any plans to develop its own large language model (LLM) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Bard.
Luke Gebb, Senior Vice President of American Express Digital Labs, stated that the company believes it would be more beneficial to utilize LLMs through partnerships rather than creating their own from scratch. Although the report does not mention specific partners, it highlights Amex’s past collaboration with Microsoft in developing cloud-based AI technologies. Microsoft has a significant investment in generative AI as it backed OpenAI with $1 billion in 2019.
“Our hypothesis at the moment is that we would be better suited using LLMs through partnerships. I don’t see us spinning up our own LLM from scratch.”
American Express plan
While the exact partners for Amex’s AI services are undisclosed, Gebb shared a range of activities and services the company aims to incorporate in the future. This includes using AI to expedite transaction approval, employing LLMs to analyze customer interaction data and sentiment, and utilizing AI for credit approval based on historical trends.
American Express appears to be cautious in integrating the latest AI technologies into its products and services, reflecting its overall approach to fintech in recent years. While competitors like Mastercard and Visa have embraced cryptocurrency payments, Amex has taken a more measured approach by offering a crypto rewards card without enabling direct cryptocurrency payments.
Moreover, leveraging AI for credit approval based on historical trends allows Amex to make more informed decisions and streamline the credit evaluation process. This not only benefits customers by providing faster credit approvals but also enables Amex to manage risks effectively.
By partnering with established technology companies like Microsoft, Amex can tap into their expertise and resources in AI development. Collaborating with industry leaders allows Amex to leverage state-of-the-art AI technologies without investing in building its own LLM from scratch.
