Clarity, Context, Confidence: Explainable AI and the New Era of Investor Trust

By Gaby Diamant, Co-Founder & CEO of BridgeWise

Trust and reputation are finance’s most fragile currencies. Slow to build, but easily destroyed. As AI leaves its mark on the industry, that trust is under tremendous pressure. AI is undeniably a technological breakthrough: it aims to read faster, calculate more accurately, and process more data than any human ever could. But speed alone doesn’t inspire confidence. What matters is whether the information it produces is reliable, and whether investors can trust it.

Yet, as Google, OpenAI, and other tech giants consolidate control over data and increasingly create closed AI ecosystems, startups chasing generic ChatGPT-style models risk missing the mark. The real opportunity lies in building end-to-end, verticalised AI infrastructure; AI designed for the specific needs of complex industries.

Today’s general-purpose AI struggles with specialised domains. Chatbots and search engines lack the authority to provide actionable insight in high-stakes areas like health, law, and finance. Vertical AI, trained on domain-specific data and built to comply with regulatory frameworks, is what will earn trust from day one. Consider Deloitte’s recent misstep in Australia: a $290,000 report containing fabricated references and a false court quote. This resulted in Deloitte refunding part of the payment for the report. Hallucinations like this erode trust and demonstrate why general-purpose AI cannot be blindly relied upon.

Despite these failures, Deloitte predicts that by 2029, nearly 80% of retail investors will receive some form of AI-driven advice. Algorithms are expected to play a major role in shaping savings, pensions, and trades. If these algorithms operate as opaque black boxes, confidence could collapse long before the next market correction.

Many of the smartest financial minds are already moving in a different direction: domain-specific AI. These models are built for finance from the ground up, trained on filings, disclosures, market data, and regulatory logic. MIT research confirms what industry leaders intuitively know: broad models crumble when context matters, and in markets, context is everything.

BridgeWise is built on the understanding that specialised AI is designed to speak the language of finance and deliver compliant, bottom-line conclusions. Companies like BridgeWise engineer investment AI that leverages deep financial histories, incorporates granular data points, and operates within compliance frameworks. These purpose-built financial models are designed to minimise guesswork, aim to justify every conclusion, and demonstrate exactly how regulatory boundaries shape their outputs.

Accuracy, however, is only half the battle. The other half is transparency. Investors want to understand the reasoning behind AI-generated insights. Explainable AI (XAI) opens that window: revealing which data influenced a decision and how it was weighed. The CFA Institute calls explainability the cornerstone of responsible financial AI. Without it, why should anyone trust the advice they’re given?

Regulators are taking notice. The European Securities and Markets Authority warns banks that accountability cannot be outsourced to machines. The Bank for International Settlements highlights the systemic risks of relying on flawed models. And the UK FCA is already piloting frameworks to ensure innovation doesn’t outpace oversight.

The future of finance might not be human versus machine. It’s likely to be humans and AI working together. Hybrid models aim to let analysts and algorithms share the load, in an effort to improve accuracy and build trust through transparent insights. Done right, this approach enhances access to high-quality analysis and uncovers patterns humans might otherwise miss.

In finance, trust isn’t optional; it’s the foundation. BridgeWise believes that verticalised AI doesn’t just calculate faster; it aims to earn confidence by showing its work, operating within rules, and speaking the language of markets. This new, fast-growing generation of financial tools don’t ask investors to take blind leaps of faith. They aim to provide the clarity, accountability, and insights that humans alone can’t. Explainable AI is no longer a luxury; it’s the standard that will define how the world invests and trusts technology.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.