Katherine Stepp on user intent
From AI’s Role in Revolutionizing Technology with Perplexity’s Dmitry Shevelenko & FactSet’s Kate Stepp · · RiskReversalMedia
“One of the real differentiators is the dynamic nature of it — users are now asking direct questions and expressing their intent, which allows us to bring together much more data behind the scenes and start putting into action automated workflows like portfolio commentary or pitch creation, shortening tasks that used to take hours and days down to minutes and seconds.”
On , Katherine Stepp, Executive VP & CTO at Factset Research Systems Inc, spoke about user intent during AI’s Role in Revolutionizing Technology with Perplexity’s Dmitry Shevelenko & FactSet’s Kate Stepp on RiskReversalMedia.
About Katherine Stepp
In a December 2024 webinar, Stepp discussed FactSet's approach to integrating generative AI into its financial data platform. She said that the company's history of integrating and collecting data provided a foundation for applying machine learning, and that generative AI has "revolutionized that efficiency factor." Stepp described how FactSet uses AI to understand user queries and then applies its existing, trusted query mechanisms to retrieve structured content, rather than relying solely on a pre-trained model for answers. She stated that this approach provides transparency and auditability, allowing users to trace information back to individual documents. Stepp also addressed user concerns about privacy and security, stating that FactSet does not train its internal systems on prompts from enterprise users. She noted that the company builds AI features in a compartmentalized way to allow for flexibility across different use cases. Stepp highlighted that AI-driven tools, such as a transcript assistant placed alongside familiar sources, have helped users adopt the technology in a "safer" manner, and that dynamic querying allows users to automate workflows like portfolio commentary, reducing tasks that previously took hours to minutes.