Blockchain
B3 launches AI Assistant to educate Brazilian investors
B3, the Brazilian stock exchange, has introduced a new AI assistant designed to help Brazilians better understand and navigate the world of investing. This innovative tool aims to address the rise of individual investors in Brazil, which have grown from around 600,000 in 2017 to around five million today, with millennials making up almost half of this demographic, according to Source LATAM.
Empower new investors
The AI assistant, dubbed B3’s co-pilot, does not provide stock tips, investment advice or broker recommendations. Instead, she helps users understand financial terminology and answers questions handled by B3 experts. She covers topics such as stocks, bonds and how to find a broker, making complex financial instruments accessible to novice investors.
Christianne Bariquelli, Superintendent of Education at B3, highlighted the importance of this tool for new and potential investors. “This solution is for Brazilians who already invest but are at the beginning of their journey or for people who want to invest but don’t have the information they need,” she said. The AI assistant aims to provide safe and reliable information to help users make informed decisions.
Factors that drive investment interest
Bariquelli attributes the growing interest in investing to several factors: better financial education, easier access to digital brokerage accounts and historically low interest rates between 2018 and 2021. The average investment amount decreased from 4,300 reais in 2021 to 2,200 reais at the end. of 2023, indicating that investments are becoming more accessible to the middle class.
Deposit savings accounts, known as Poupanças, are traditionally popular due to high interest rates aimed at controlling inflation. However, with inflation falling and interest rates falling, Brazilians are looking for alternatives with better returns.
AI assistant role
Marcos Garavini Siffert, engineer and investment club coordinator, highlighted the AI assistant’s potential to help new investors feel confident enough to explore investment opportunities beyond traditional savings accounts. The assistant provides high-quality information, similar to reports available at private banks, but accessible to all.
B3’s educational offerings include articles, videos and online courses. The AI assistant complements these resources by providing immediate answers to specific questions, such as “what are stocks?” or “how can I save to invest?” This tool helps users understand the financial terms they encounter during their learning journey.
Continuous improvement and ethical standards
Marcos Albino Rodrigues, B3’s Director of Architecture, Data and Technology Innovation, explained that the AI assistant is continuously retrained to improve its responses and ensure they remain within B3’s guidelines. The assistant is designed to educate without making investment suggestions, maintaining a layer of ethics to prevent discriminatory behavior.
The AI assistant, developed in collaboration with Microsoft using the Azure OpenAI service, offers a more advanced and natural conversation experience than traditional chatbots. Launched in February, it already supports 10,000 users per day and has received positive feedback on social media.
Future perspectives
B3 is exploring ways to expand the reach of the AI assistant, for example by providing a widget that banks or brokerages can embed on their websites. This initiative aims to increase investments in stocks and bonds, which are crucial to the growth of Brazil’s capital markets and economy.
According to a World Bank report, strong capital markets are essential for economic growth, business support and poverty reduction. B3 hopes more investors will consider Brazilian Treasury bonds, which offer better returns than traditional savings accounts.
“We believe that financial education and new investors are directly linked to the improvement of the Brazilian economy,” Bariquelli said. “When you have access to capital, businesses can grow, bring in new employers and people can have savings.”
Top image: Christianne Bariquelli, superintendent of education at B3, and Marcos Albino Rodrigues, director of architecture, data and technological innovation at B3, helped develop the Brazilian stock exchange’s AI assistant that answers questions from investors. Photo by Avener Prado for Microsoft.
Image source: Shutterstock