ARTIFICIAL intelligence for most people conjures up images from sci-fi movies – but it can help you to save money. Websites and apps can arrange your finances for you at the click of a button, saving you more than £6,000 per year. Forget A.I. that leads to robots taking over the world – and think of new, friendlier versions such as Chip and Look After My Bills. Get an app to transfer your spare cash into a savings account and watch how it mounts up. Some banks offer this service, like Lloyds' Save The Change tool, which rounds up the amount you spend on your debit card to the nearest pound and transfers the difference to a savings account.

When I talk about marketing with my customers and at events, I discuss how analytics, including using artificial intelligence ( AI) and machine learning, can drive improved customer experience. I often say that without analytics, marketing departments might as well just go home. In today's world, we are surrounded by data. Companies are trying to collect the right data and transform it into meaningful insights using powerful algorithms. But despite increasing use of technology and increasingly demanding consumers, the basic rules of customer engagement have not changed.

Whenever you speak with recruiters, they'll usually start going on about the "war for talent" which is just an attempt at making their job sound a lot more difficult than it actually is. There are always people looking to hire and people looking to get hired. Eventually, we'll just lose the middleman entirely. How hard is it really to browse LinkedIn and message people? That's why artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are already starting to "free up recruiters to focus on more value added activities".

The security of peoples' finances is as important as the protection of their personal data (87%) by their bank A lack of understanding and trust in technology is stalling mainstream adoption of innovative new services which could make millions of people's daily lives simpler and more secure, new HSBC research reveals. The HSBC research report, Trust in Technology, shows that technologies such as fingerprint recognition, voice recognition and robo-advice hold enormous potential for uses from bank security to mobile payments and investment advice, yet millions of people who could benefit do not trust them because they do not understand them well enough. HSBC has commissioned a study of more than 12,000 people in 11 countries and territories looking at their perceptions and use of technology. The study of more than 12,000 people in 11 countries reveals four in every five people (80%) believe that technology makes their lives easier but less than half (46%) trust fingerprint recognition to replace their password, despite it being recognised to be at least five1 times more secure and significantly more convenient than traditional passwords. Eighty-four per cent of respondents say they would share their personal data with their bank if it meant getting a better service, underlining the need to educate consumers about the specific benefits of new technologies.

The service will use data and algorithms and will make personal recommendations based on an individual's circumstances. It is expected to be available by the end of the year. The bank says this will "open up wealth management opportunities to those who thought it wasn't for them, thanks to a lower investment entry point". The timing is interesting, as recently HSBC published a research report that showed nearly four times as many people in the UK (41%) would trust a robot to perform heart surgery than open a bank savings account (12%). This is according to its study of 2,000 people in the UK into their trust in technology. In contrast to some extreme scenarios, like surgery and parachuting, just 12% of people would trust a robot to open a savings account for them and only 11% would trust them for mortgage advice.

Late last year, just in time for Christmas shopping, Rachel Rhoads got a nice surprise. One of her secret savings accounts had grown to $900 behind her back. Rhoads, a 37-year-old Los Angeles-based sales director for a jewelry line, has an account with Digit, a financial technology company with an algorithm that tracks users' income and spending patterns. It painlessly spirits small amounts of money out of checking and into a savings account every two or three days. "I just thought it was such a good idea, to set it and forget it," said Rhoads, who says she is "like a squirrel" in her approach to saving.

Late last year, just in time for Christmas shopping, Rachel Rhoads got a nice surprise. One of her secret savings accounts had grown to $900 behind her back. Rhoads, a 37-year-old Los Angeles-based sales director for a jewelry line, has an account with Digit, a financial technology company with an algorithm that tracks users' income and spending patterns. It painlessly spirits small amounts of money out of checking and into a savings account every two or three days. "I just thought it was such a good idea, to set it and forget it," said Rhoads, who says she is "like a squirrel" in her approach to saving.