Scoping out the prize on offer
By their nature, all family offices are unique, varying widely in size, structure, strategy and sophistication. But there are some things they all have in common. One has always been a laser-focus on safeguarding and growing the assets of the family they support. And now, they all have a huge opportunity to fulfil their mandate better, faster and more efficiently by harnessing the power of AI.
A select group of family offices are already seizing this opportunity, as highlighted in a recent PwC thought leadership paper. In embracing AI, these organisations are reshaping the family office for the AI era. But many others are taking a wait-and-see approach, waiting for the next big game-changer before committing to material AI adoption.
“In cases where smaller family offices are already using AI, it’s usually because they have someone in the office who’s personally focused on technology and is starting to run with it. That in turn is compelling those family offices to start thinking about their AI policies and procedures and what use cases they should target.”
AI’s rapid advance…
This caution creates its own risks. AI is catalysing and enabling the biggest change in decades to how businesses operate and create value. Family offices are no exception. And those that hold off now are missing out on this seismic, once-in-a-lifetime shift.
It’s not hard to see why some family offices are hesitant about AI. Its headlong evolution can cause them to worry that models and tools adopted today may be outdated or even obsolete in a few months’ time. They’re also wary of making the wrong choice from among the multiple models on the market. And once a choice is made, a further challenge is having the skills in the business to make effective use of AI.
The good news is that these concerns are either unfounded or can be readily overcome. In the past year, the big four “frontier” AI models have evolved and converged so radically that they’re all now capable of addressing virtually any business problem or process. They come as ready-made, out-of-the-box solutions that are easy for non-technical people to use. And they’re sold on subscription with ongoing upgrades and model improvements included. What’s more, family office staff are often eager to acquire AI skills.
“People in family offices tend to be generalists working in small, highly trusted teams and handling a vast array of different tasks. That's why out-of-the-box AI solutions can be so powerful for them, because these tools can fit so flexibly around the myriad obligations and activities they have to undertake.”
…is being reflected in rising uptake and evolving use cases
These messages are now getting across. As recently as twelve months ago, we commonly saw family offices with individual staff using free versions of an AI model and perhaps a tech enthusiast on the team pressing for wider professional usage. Fast-forward to today, and we’ve seen enormous progress, with family office clients who were previously uninterested now saying they’re using AI regularly, both personally and professionally.
So, what are most family offices using it for? Given the sector’s focus on investment, a frequent starting-point is relatively simple use cases within the investment process, such as reviewing term sheets to highlight anomalies. The main benefit here is speed: these are tasks people can do, but with AI they might take one hour rather than five. We’re also seeing rising usage for data analysis, such as using AI agents to pre-populate spreadsheets or manipulate data, again saving time and effort while providing deeper business insight. Reviewing and analysing property leases is a further application that’s gaining ground.
“Reporting has always been a bugbear for family offices, and they’ve largely relied on manual spreadsheets to handle it. Now AI is democratising access to sophisticated, institutional level reporting tools for a fraction of the price. I know many family offices that are using AI to develop in-house reporting that gives much deeper insights at lower cost.”
But these fairly basic use cases are just the start. More family offices we work with are now using AI to create highly sophisticated board paper packs, providing board meetings with higher-quality, better-structured information and intelligence that have boosted efficiency and effectiveness.
Three steps from “crawl” to “run”
On the traditional scale of crawl-walk-run, most family offices are still at the “crawl” stage and wondering how to start walking. We’re helping more and more accelerate to a sprint, through a three-step approach.
The first is to choose one of the frontier models (it doesn’t really matter which) and start using their out-of-the-box tools for selected tasks. You might begin with some of the simpler use cases we mentioned above, before progressing to more advanced uses like AI-assistants, which are pre-canned agentic workflows also known as “agents” or “GPTs”, for reporting and reconciliation. The more you do, the more you’ll see what’s possible.
The second and parallel step is upskilling your people in using and prompting the AI tools. You wouldn't implement a new ERP and expect returns from just throwing it at your employees, and AI is no different. So make sure every team member has some intensive training around how to use AI effectively, including features, policies for responsible use and prompting.
The third step is to begin developing your own AI agents to handle and optimise more complex end-to-end tasks, while always ensuring people stay in control. To get started you might need some expert advice: this is certainly an area where we’re getting more and more requests for help from family office clients. As your agentic workforce grows, so will the opportunities for efficiency gains and business impacts.
“Getting a return-on-investment from GenAI actually comes down to the traditional qualities of great change management and excellent leadership. There’s no silver bullet. It's about rolling up your sleeves, leading by example, and upskilling your people in how to prompt and use AI effectively.”
No time to lose
Bottom line? AI isn’t just the future. It’s today. And for family offices, the message is simple: get started, or get left behind. PwC can help family offices not only keep pace with the AI revolution, but join the leaders in creating value from it. To find out more, please reach out.
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