Interactive Brokers integrates website search results with IBot
The AI solution now returns the five best suiting search results from Interactive Brokers’ website.
IBot, the natural language interface to trading developed by Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR), has been one of the best examples of how artificial intelligence (AI) advances in the online trading world.
The latest (beta) version of the TWS platform provides IBot with some extra capabilities, as Interactive Brokers has integrated its website search with IBot to allow educational and task-based returns.
With this integration, IBot can answer such queries as “How do I fund my account?” and “How do I transfer funds?” by returning the top five best information links from Interactive Brokers’ website. Clicking a link will take the traders from the IBot interface to the selected page at interactivebrokers.com.
IBot was launched in the fall of 2016 with the aim to provide a natural way to trade. Using “natural language” means that traders avoid the friction that comes with a standard interface, as they are able to speak (or type) commands without worrying about the precise wording.
Typical commands are “Buy 300 more shares” or “Show my account margin”. Traders can also scan the markets for, say, the most active US stock. To do that, they should ask IBot about “top gaining US stocks” or “biggest US market winners.” The solution also provides information on market depth, helps work with option chains, simplifies work with calendar, etc.
IBot does not support all types of commands. In case she encounters an unsupported command, she will return a “Potentially misunderstood” warning message, accompanied by a best-efforts result.
The latest update to IBot comes about a month after Interactive Brokers added IBot voice recognition on TWS for desktop. That is, TWS for Desktop users got the ability to use voice commands with IBot in case they have a microphone.
One may note that IBot is overtaking some functions traditionally performed by customer support staff: for instance, the bot may orientate the brokers’ clients with regards to how to find certain information about their accounts. The issue of AI solutions gradually replacing human staff is now acute in the financial industry. While most Forex executives approached by FinanceFeeds believe that AI is far from replacing staff at brokerages, some regulators are starting to consider options to protect human employees as robots are increasingly used in workplaces.
