5 ways ChatGPT will impact corporate finance

AI-powered chatbots are the trendiest thing in technology now. With these tools getting people out of parking tickets, writing essays for students, and even eerily hiring human beings to bypass captcha tests, this technology is unprecedented and disruptive.

Industry leaders requested formal bans on the further advancement of this technology last week, while some countries have banned the software’s use altogether.

Whether generative AI will work alongside or replace humans is up for debate. Regardless of industry, companies using people-centric decision-making processes are now dealing with a technological catalyst that many executives, especially CFOs, will respond to by reassessing how they approach some decisions.

As products like ChatGPT continue to advance, here are five ways finance leadership can expect this type of technology to impact daily operations sooner than later.

1. Consulting

Despite leadership saying consulting is safe for now, expect those whose business model is making the most informed, top-notch decisions and business guidance models to shift toward using AI to do their jobs. With the trillions of data points the latest version of ChatGPT operates on, consulting agencies that choose to dismiss the software’s use in their services may be doing themselves a considerable disservice. Major players in the consulting space are already making deals to build the most technologically inspired offerings. Just last month, Bain & Company announced a partnership with OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT.

2. Talent Evaluation

Employers may have to reevaluate the hiring process. Not only is ChatGPT capable of enhancing the workforce’s learning processes, it can also be leveraged to create personal cover letters, resumes, interview tips, and even verbatim dialogue for candidates who wish to sound the best in the interview. In response to this, executives should put an onus on the interpersonal aspects of a job interview, and judge candidates not solely by the work they have done but by their demeanor, work ethic, energy, and interpersonal communication skills; you know, the stuff that makes them human.

3. Supply Chains

Constructing pathways to move people and goods can leverage outside-the-box knowledge to drive efficiency. Those who find constant variables popping up in the way they get the materials or products they need, especially at large scale, may benefit from the constantly updating information database in AI-powered chatbots. Companies like clothing retailer Gap have already inked agreements with tech companies in hopes of using the technology to “nudge” shoppers into exchanges and not returns.

Generative AI will also help the retailer optimize where to move, sell, and store merchandise. Ninety-five percent of eligible new inventory managed through Optoro, the technology provider and AI-powered tech company working with Gap, is listed and ready to be resold the same day it is received while “significantly” reducing out-of-stocks for customers.

4. Remote Work and Freelancing

Regardless of what an employer thinks about employees using ChatGPT to assist or complete their work, those who employ remote workers or contractors may have little control over how much they use the software. With remote workers finding new ways to juggle multiple positions unbeknownst to their employers, AI generative technology can create more opportunities for workers to do just that.

With freelancing and the gig economy becoming a dominant factor in the way businesses and people alike work, ChatGPT may eliminate the need for companies to outsource small projects that would be too time-consuming for full-time employees but not a heavy-enough lift to justify a dedicated internal position. These types of in-between duties are precisely what ChatGPT may excel in executing first, even in its public infancy.

5. Workplace Communication

Much like job candidates using ChatGPT to make themselves appear the perfect candidate, the technology can also enable employees to replace their own words with AI in inter-organizational communications. It can make them appear more informed and on their game than they actually are. Many employees, especially Gen-Z, have a distaste for meetings and would rather receive communication via email or text messaging. ChatGPT’s technology may serve them well in attempts to sound more intelligent to their managers.

With AI’s ability to construct professional and grammatically clean copy on a whim, managers and executives who adhere to their employee’s wishes of communicating through digital channels may not even be speaking to the person they think they are, but rather with a buttoned-up version of the employee facilitated by a chatbot. That may cause some confusion and frustration when those virtual conversations turn to in-person ones, and those same employees are asked to explain their ideas.