Latest news with #TomPadgett
FF News
26-06-2025
- Business
- FF News
New Smarsh UK Survey Shows AI Adoption Surges in Financial Services—But Employees Demand Stronger Guardrails
Today, Smarsh , the global leader in communications data and intelligence, reveals new research that highlights UK financial services employees' perspectives on artificial intelligence (AI). The data indicates that while AI is fundamentally changing how UK financial services employees work and communicate, they are increasingly aware of the risks it poses to businesses without addressing training, privacy and compliance issues. Balancing innovation with risk from the bottom up The study, based on responses from 2000 UK employees in financial services and insurance, highlights how AI is now a pivotal part of daily business, with over a third often using AI tools for work purposes. However, 55% of employees say that they have never received any official training for using such tools. The research also reveals that: Over a third (37%) say that they often use public AI tools – like ChatGPT or Microsoft 365 Copilot – for work purposes A further 38% are not sure whether their organisation has tools and processes to capture and monitor the outputs of AI tools, with a further 21% explicitly saying that they know that their firm does not Over two thirds (69%) would feel more confident using AI tools if all outputs were captured and monitored for transparency 'AI adoption in financial services has accelerated rapidly, with employees embracing these tools to boost productivity,' said Tom Padgett, President, Enterprise Business at Smarsh . 'But with innovation comes responsibility. Firms must establish the right guardrails to prevent data leaks and misconduct. The good news is that employees are on board—welcoming a safe, compliant AI environment that builds trust and unlocks long-term growth.' Licence to Skill? Employees unsure of AI Agent compliance The research also reveals employees' views around AI tools that are being used within their organisation for public, customer-facing tasks. Specifically, AI Agents – systems that are able to perform specific tasks without human intervention, i.e. a chatbot. The research shows that: Almost half (43%) say that their organisation uses AI Agents for customer communications, including personalised financial advice A quarter (22%) indicated that their firm is using the technology for investment activities, like trade recommendations and portfolio management Yet a third (31%) have concerns around their organisation's ability to meet or apply regulatory obligations to AI Agents A further 29% worry that they don't know where potentially sensitive information is going when AI Agents are used The findings come as the FCA is set to give UK financial services firms the greenlight on ambitious proposals for AI innovation with an AI live testing service , aimed at supporting firms with implementing consumer-facing AI tools. 'Using public Al tools without controls is digital negligence,' said Paul Taylor, Vice President of Product at Smarsh. 'You're effectively feeding your crown jewels into a black box you don't own, where the data can't be deleted, and the logic can't be explained. It's reckless. Private tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot and ChatGPT Enterprise are a step in the right direction. Still, if companies aren't actively capturing and auditing usage, they're not securing innovation- they're sleepwalking into a compliance nightmare. Companies In This Post Smarsh
Business Wire
25-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
New Smarsh UK Survey Shows AI Adoption Surges in Financial Services—But Employees Demand Stronger Guardrails
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Smarsh®, the global leader in communications data and intelligence, reveals new research that highlights UK financial services employees' perspectives on artificial intelligence (AI). The data indicates that while AI is fundamentally changing how UK financial services employees work and communicate, they are increasingly aware of the risks it poses to businesses without addressing training, privacy and compliance issues. Over a third of UK employees use AI tools often for work, however, nearly 70% would feel more confident if all AI outputs were captured and monitored for transparency. Balancing innovation with risk from the bottom up The study, based on responses from 2000 UK employees in financial services and insurance, highlights how AI is now a pivotal part of daily business, with over a third often using AI tools for work purposes. However, 55% of employees say that they have never received any official training for using such tools. The research also reveals that: Over a third (37%) say that they often use public AI tools – like ChatGPT or Microsoft 365 Copilot – for work purposes A further 38% are not sure whether their organisation has tools and processes to capture and monitor the outputs of AI tools, with a further 21% explicitly saying that they know that their firm does not Over two thirds (69%) would feel more confident using AI tools if all outputs were captured and monitored for transparency 'AI adoption in financial services has accelerated rapidly, with employees embracing these tools to boost productivity,' said Tom Padgett, President, Enterprise Business at Smarsh. 'But with innovation comes responsibility. Firms must establish the right guardrails to prevent data leaks and misconduct. The good news is that employees are on board—welcoming a safe, compliant AI environment that builds trust and unlocks long-term growth.' Licence to Skill? Employees unsure of AI Agent compliance The research also reveals employees' views around AI tools that are being used within their organisation for public, customer-facing tasks. Specifically, AI Agents – systems that are able to perform specific tasks without human intervention, i.e. a chatbot. The research shows that: The findings come as the FCA is set to give UK financial services firms the greenlight on ambitious proposals for AI innovation with an AI live testing service, aimed at supporting firms with implementing consumer-facing AI tools. "Using public Al tools without controls is digital negligence,' said Paul Taylor, Vice President of Product at Smarsh. 'You're effectively feeding your crown jewels into a black box you don't own, where the data can't be deleted, and the logic can't be explained. It's reckless. Private tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot and ChatGPT Enterprise are a step in the right direction. Still, if companies aren't actively capturing and auditing usage, they're not securing innovation - they're sleepwalking into a compliance nightmare." Smarsh enables organisations to govern AI effectively, allowing them to facilitate compliant use of the technology while protecting employees from the new risks posed by it. With AI-enabled compliance and communications surveillance solutions such as Smarsh Intelligent Agent, Capture for Microsoft 365 Copilot and ChatGPT Enterprise, financial services firms can future-proof their communications infrastructure. Discover how to stay compliant and competitive with Smarsh's recent AI in Communication Surveillance report. About Smarsh Smarsh enables regulated organizations of all sizes to capture, archive and monitor data from business communications to help identify regulatory and reputational risks before those risks become fines or headlines. The Smarsh Enterprise Platform's AI-enabled applications, including Capture, Archive, Conduct and Discovery, give organizations the power to manage risk and unleash the intelligence in their digital communications at unmatched scale. Smarsh serves a global client base spanning the top banks in North America, Europe, and Asia, along with leading brokerage firms, insurers, and registered investment advisors and U.S. state and local government agencies. To discover more about the future of communications capture, archiving and oversight, visit or follow Smarsh on LinkedIn. About the research: This online survey of 2000 UK adults who work in financial services or insurance was commissioned by Smarsh and conducted by market research company OnePoll, in accordance with the Market Research Society's code of conduct. Data was collected between 8th April 2025 and 17th April 2025. All participants are double-opted in to take part in research and are paid an amount depending on the length and complexity of the survey. This survey was overseen and edited by the OnePoll research team. OnePoll are MRS Company Partners, corporate membership of ESOMAR and Members of the British Polling Council.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Annual River-cade Youth Fishing Derby encourages local families to spend day fishing
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — Saturday's nice weather brought families out to Bacon Creek Park for the 29th annual River-cade Youth Fishing Derby. From 9 a.m. to noon at Bacon Creek, kids were able to be outside and spend time with their loved ones fishing. For $5, kids ages 4 through 12 were provided with a rod, reel, tackle box, shoreline lunch, and a chance to win a bike in the River City Anglers Casting Contest. The event coordinator said the derby isn't just about catching fish. Story continues below Top Story: Local band to be featured on Saturday in the Park Main Stage Lights & Sirens: Part of roof collapses during fire at Dakota City boat dealer Sports: Falcons fly to history! West Sioux boys soccer wins first-ever IHSAA State title with 2-1 OT win against Van Meter Weather: Get the latest weather forecast here 'It's not so much big fish or most fish things like that adults do. It's mostly just letting them fish, and maybe, they catch one once in a while. Maybe, they don't always get a lot of fish or maybe even any fish, but they get the chance to throw their bobber in the water and their hook and see if they catch something and to have the camaraderie with their friends maybe and of course their parents or grandparents,' said Tom Padgett, a River-cade board member According to organizers, in the 29 years of the event, over 12,000 kids have received fishing equipment to enjoy. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
National Post
04-06-2025
- Business
- National Post
Smarsh Unveils Major Platform Innovations, Next-Gen AI and Robust APIs for Smarter Financial Oversight
Article content Harnessing AI, New Platform Innovations Turn Data Chaos into Compliance Confidence Article content PORTLAND, Ore. — Smarsh ®, the global leader in communications data and intelligence, today announced significant advancements to its industry-leading platform, including cutting-edge AI innovations and expanded API capabilities. These innovations reinforce the company's commitment to financial industry firms to confidently meet the evolving demands of AI implementation and digital communications oversight. With these enhancements, Smarsh customers can seamlessly integrate advanced AI capabilities into their existing workflows, ensuring smarter compliance and superior regulatory control. Article content 'AI is transforming how the world's largest financial institutions operate, and Smarsh is proud to lead them into this new era,' said Tom Padgett, President, Enterprise Business at Smarsh. 'These innovations give organizations the ability to meet their regulatory obligations and gain actionable insights — all while using AI to bring clarity to compliance chaos.' Article content Use AI with regulatory certainty: Smarsh Capture for Microsoft 365 Copilot Article content Financial institutions are eager to utilize generative AI in ways that meet their unique compliance and governance requirements. Through this integration, Smarsh Capture provides compliance teams with enhanced tools to securely govern Microsoft 365 Copilot and significantly enhance productivity. Organizations can use AI safely, responsibly, and within regulatory guidelines. Article content Capture Microsoft 365 Copilot conversations in full context: Securely preserve Microsoft 365 Copilot prompts, files, and responses across the web, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365, and chat agents with tamper-proof records. Automate governance and policy enforcement: Seamlessly apply compliance policies across Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions. Strengthen legal and audit readiness: Ensure AI-generated interactions meet organizational and regulatory standards. Uncover trends and speed decision-making: Analyze Microsoft 365 Copilot communications for unapparent insights and behavioral patterns. Article content 'Microsoft 365 Copilot is transforming how employees collaborate and innovate across industries,' said Dan Stevenson, General Manager, Microsoft 365 Copilot Extensibility Ecosystem. 'Our collaboration with Smarsh ensures that organizations in highly regulated sectors can harness the full power of Copilot while maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency, and compliance. Together, we are enabling secure, responsible AI adoption at scale.' Article content Learn more about this integration in the Eliminating Compliance Barriers for Microsoft 365 Copilot webinar. Article content New API capabilities from Smarsh are engineered to supercharge data management and unlock business insights. Providing secure, API-driven access, they enable seamless integration with existing legal, compliance, and case management systems. This open architecture allows firms to effortlessly connect and synchronize data across all their workflows, driving efficiency gains, enabling tailored customization, and reducing costly manual data processes. Article content Smarsh is proud to collaborate with leading providers like Exterro and Relativity on the launch of these expanded API capabilities. Together, these integrations offer organizations a scalable foundation for end-to-end discovery that meets evolving regulatory and legal requirements. Article content 'Exterro is pleased to partner with Smarsh on this important advancement in e-discovery integration,' said Bruce Holbert, Head of Partnerships at Exterro. 'With Smarsh's new API suite, legal and compliance teams can seamlessly connect communications data to their e-discovery and case management workflows — reducing risk, improving efficiency, and accelerating time to insight. As a leader in data risk management, Exterro is focused on helping regulated organizations stay defensible, drive efficiency, and remain ahead of constantly evolving demands. Together with Smarsh, we're delivering outcomes that matter.' Article content Achieve smarter risk detection and significant cost savings with Intelligent Agent Article content Smarsh Intelligent Agent is breakthrough AI developed in partnership with leading global financial institutions and built on over a decade of production-tested AI. Unlike other solutions, Intelligent Agent was created in partnership with the industry and designed to emulate real-world Level 1 Compliance Analyst review. Article content Intelligent Agent leverages Smarsh domain-adapted LLMs to increase risk detection with reduced noise across global languages, eliminating the need for translation. Article content Contextual AI filtering: Reduce review workloads by up to 50% or more with a high-ROI and fast time-to-value solution that works on top of your existing program. Multilingual detections: Surface 3 to 5 times more critical risks across global languages with a solution designed for compliance: built to be resilient to misspelling, free from hallucinations, and with no third-party data processing. Article content With Intelligent Agent, Smarsh sets a new standard for AI in compliance, combining deep industry expertise, cutting-edge technology, and a clear focus on explainability, trust and transparency. Intelligent Agent will be available in late 2025. Learn more about Intelligent Agent here. Article content With these innovations, Smarsh builds on its proven track record of delivering secure, scalable and future-ready solutions for the world's most regulated industries. The company's continued investment in platform innovation ensures that customers are equipped to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow in the evolving AI and technology landscape. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
Business Wire
04-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Smarsh Unveils Major Platform Innovations, Next-Gen AI and Robust APIs for Smarter Financial Oversight
PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Smarsh ®, the global leader in communications data and intelligence, today announced significant advancements to its industry-leading platform, including cutting-edge AI innovations and expanded API capabilities. These innovations reinforce the company's commitment to financial industry firms to confidently meet the evolving demands of AI implementation and digital communications oversight. With these enhancements, Smarsh customers can seamlessly integrate advanced AI capabilities into their existing workflows, ensuring smarter compliance and superior regulatory control. "Our collaboration with Smarsh ensures that organizations in highly regulated sectors can harness the full power of Microsoft 365 Copilot while maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency, and compliance." Share 'AI is transforming how the world's largest financial institutions operate, and Smarsh is proud to lead them into this new era,' said Tom Padgett, President, Enterprise Business at Smarsh. 'These innovations give organizations the ability to meet their regulatory obligations and gain actionable insights — all while using AI to bring clarity to compliance chaos.' Use AI with regulatory certainty: Smarsh Capture for Microsoft 365 Copilot Financial institutions are eager to utilize generative AI in ways that meet their unique compliance and governance requirements. Through this integration, Smarsh Capture provides compliance teams with enhanced tools to securely govern Microsoft 365 Copilot and significantly enhance productivity. Organizations can use AI safely, responsibly, and within regulatory guidelines. Smarsh Capture for Microsoft 365 Copilot enables organizations to: Capture Microsoft 365 Copilot conversations in full context: Securely preserve Microsoft 365 Copilot prompts, files, and responses across the web, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365, and chat agents with tamper-proof records. Automate governance and policy enforcement: Seamlessly apply compliance policies across Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions. Strengthen legal and audit readiness: Ensure AI-generated interactions meet organizational and regulatory standards. Uncover trends and speed decision-making: Analyze Microsoft 365 Copilot communications for unapparent insights and behavioral patterns. 'Microsoft 365 Copilot is transforming how employees collaborate and innovate across industries,' said Dan Stevenson, General Manager, Microsoft 365 Copilot Extensibility Ecosystem. 'Our collaboration with Smarsh ensures that organizations in highly regulated sectors can harness the full power of Copilot while maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency, and compliance. Together, we are enabling secure, responsible AI adoption at scale.' Learn more about this integration in the Eliminating Compliance Barriers for Microsoft 365 Copilot webinar. New API capabilities from Smarsh are engineered to supercharge data management and unlock business insights. Providing secure, API-driven access, they enable seamless integration with existing legal, compliance, and case management systems. This open architecture allows firms to effortlessly connect and synchronize data across all their workflows, driving efficiency gains, enabling tailored customization, and reducing costly manual data processes. Smarsh is proud to collaborate with leading providers like Exterro and Relativity on the launch of these expanded API capabilities. Together, these integrations offer organizations a scalable foundation for end-to-end discovery that meets evolving regulatory and legal requirements. 'Exterro is pleased to partner with Smarsh on this important advancement in e-discovery integration,' said Bruce Holbert, Head of Partnerships at Exterro. 'With Smarsh's new API suite, legal and compliance teams can seamlessly connect communications data to their e-discovery and case management workflows — reducing risk, improving efficiency, and accelerating time to insight. As a leader in data risk management, Exterro is focused on helping regulated organizations stay defensible, drive efficiency, and remain ahead of constantly evolving demands. Together with Smarsh, we're delivering outcomes that matter.' Achieve smarter risk detection and significant cost savings with Intelligent Agent Smarsh Intelligent Agent is breakthrough AI developed in partnership with leading global financial institutions and built on over a decade of production-tested AI. Unlike other solutions, Intelligent Agent was created in partnership with the industry and designed to emulate real-world Level 1 Compliance Analyst review. Intelligent Agent leverages Smarsh domain-adapted LLMs to increase risk detection with reduced noise across global languages, eliminating the need for translation. Contextual AI filtering: Reduce review workloads by up to 50% or more with a high-ROI and fast time-to-value solution that works on top of your existing program. Multilingual detections: Surface 3 to 5 times more critical risks across global languages with a solution designed for compliance: built to be resilient to misspelling, free from hallucinations, and with no third-party data processing. With Intelligent Agent, Smarsh sets a new standard for AI in compliance, combining deep industry expertise, cutting-edge technology, and a clear focus on explainability, trust and transparency. Intelligent Agent will be available in late 2025. Learn more about Intelligent Agent here. With these innovations, Smarsh builds on its proven track record of delivering secure, scalable and future-ready solutions for the world's most regulated industries. The company's continued investment in platform innovation ensures that customers are equipped to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow in the evolving AI and technology landscape. About Smarsh Smarsh enables companies to transform oversight into foresight by surfacing business-critical signals in their digital communications. Serving the top banks, insurers, investment firms, and government agencies worldwide, Smarsh delivers cloud-native solutions that help organizations stay compliant, mitigate risk, and unlock the value of their communications data.
