Retirement Plan Tech Firm Turns to AI for Video ‘Hosts’

Less than two years ago, David Ferrigno noticed some videos making the rounds online, impressive deep fakes of celebrities.

Ferrigno, the CEO of a company that makes videos for retirement plan providers and plan sponsors, had one thought: “Why can’t we do that?”

vWise Inc., the Aliso Viejo, California-based technology firm Ferrigno runs, is used widely in the retirement industry to make custom videos for participant groups ranging from onboarding to education to choosing the right level of deferment for their needs. Those videos, which used professional actors and high levels of production, used to take at least 6 months. Now, thanks to artificial intelligence, Ferrigno’s firm can turn them around in a matter of days.

“We had to schedule the actors, write the scripts, get the script approved, schedule the green screen studio with a 20-person crew to do sound, lighting, makeup and then spend all day in the studio,” Ferrigno recounts. “Then imagine when a client wants to make a change because they changed branding or have a new initiative? It could be a five-month process.”

Ferrigno’s team, he says, kicked into high gear not only to create AI-leveraged videos, but to make them at a higher quality level than those early deep fake clips. Even so, its avatar, “Erica,” has come online relatively fast and is already being used by some clients to make videos on 401(k) enrollment and deferrals. Now, if the firm needs to make a brand change or just wants to update some information, the new video can be turned around in a day.

“They can now iterate and maximize their funnel conversion rates much faster,” says Ferrigno. “They can even have one actor for multiple segments—one for Gen X participants, one for Gen Z or other target groups.”

vWise’s clients tend to be recordkeepers, asset managers and advisers who are all seeking to increase participant personalization. Ferrigno notes that vWise’s larger mission is to provide the technology to meet that need.

AI Video Host Erica

In a demonstration, he shows how a participant can be guided to a suggested deferral amount by typing in their income and retirement goals—with the integrated software not just making the recommendation, but taking them to the button to make the deferral happen.

“We are fully integrated with our clients,” Ferrigno explains. “That makes the difference.”

Now, thanks to AI video hosts, those clients can more quickly implement new offerings or changes to drive adoption, the CEO says. Whether offering a new managed account, retirement income option or health savings account, Erica’s schedule is always open.

Ferrigno also believes the move will be good for business. He sees the faster turnaround times and cheaper production costs opening his firm to go after more clients—such as more retail financial advisers and firms—and to go further down market in the plan sponsor space, with the ability to offer services to smaller plans.

“It’s easier for us to iterate and work across all the verticals—clients can put out more use cases more quickly without having to deal with long setup times,” he says.

And what about those great host actors? Ferrigno thinks they’ll be OK.

“They always had very busy schedules,” he says.