Are you guys using AI to do your PE work?
Is your firm using AI, and what workstreams are being automated?
My firm doesn't have any enterprise AI product, and closely monitors our usage of chatGPT and similar commercial stuff.
I think many redundant/manual associate-level PE workstreams can probably be done or greatly helped by AI, like analyzing customer cube data, updating analyses based on latest financials, etc. But at the very least, if you just buy microsoft co-pilot, that could take care of some basic email writing / summary, taking and summarizing meeting notes, but my firm is not even using co-pilot.
It's just annoying that I'm still having to spend hours doing these very manual and repetitive stuff that probably/ at least theoretically could be done by AI. Not sure what the state of AI adoption is at other PE firms - are you guys using any AI at all, and if yes, what product are you using / what do you use it for?
Based on the most helpful WSO content, many private equity firms are indeed adopting AI to streamline and enhance their operations. Early adopters are leveraging AI tools to automate approximately 50% of functions like deal origination and due diligence. These tools can process large amounts of structured and unstructured data, generating standardized reports within minutes. This significantly reduces the manual workload for associates and analysts.
Specific workstreams being automated include:
However, not all firms are at the same level of adoption. Some, like yours, may be hesitant due to concerns about data security or the maturity of AI products. For firms that are lagging, this could mean a competitive disadvantage as AI continues to evolve and improve.
If your firm is not yet adopting AI, it might be worth advocating for pilot programs with secure enterprise-grade AI tools to demonstrate their potential in reducing repetitive tasks and increasing efficiency.
Sources: Q&A: AI will automate many roles in the IB/PE world. A live Q&A with Arctic, who are recruiting finance professionals to help manage that change, Q&A: AI will automate many roles in the IB/PE world. A live Q&A with Arctic, who are recruiting finance professionals to help manage that change, Work at top AM -- AI will virtually kill of entry-level roles in AM over the next 5yrs, Is Private Equity a Low-IQ Approach to Finance?, Will robots replace your consulting or financial career?
It's helpful for research-related tasks, but I have found it's still too early for Excel-type analysis, including qualitative takeaways based on data uploads. If you do use it for analysis, I'd scrutinize the output heavily - we've seen some pretty serious blunders.
If you don’t mind sharing, which tools have worked well for you?
ChatGPT does the trick. Enterprise account so you can upload sensitive materials.
Use it to summarize consultant reports, contracts, loan docs, etc. It has helped a ton and can answer specific questions I have. Also use it to help me with bespoke excel formulas for analyses, sometimes takes some trial and error but overall a huge plus to my efficiency.
do you just use chatGPT for that? with uploading docs, are you using the enterprise version so there's no confidentiality concerns?
yeah, my firm subscribed to the Enterprise Version so can upload all the confidential stuff.
The bespoke excel formulas is such a hack. Super helpful when you’re trying to automate something random.
What do you mean? Is that something you prompt it with?
I use AI constantly for finance—everything from analyzing earnings calls and building financial models to researching industries, competitors, and market trends. The biggest challenge isn’t getting answers anymore; it’s keeping all the context organized across dozens of reports, filings, spreadsheets, and conversations.
That’s why I’ve been using Trustgraph. Instead of treating every prompt like a fresh start, it connects information into a context graph, so relationships between companies, metrics, assumptions, and previous analyses persist over time. It feels less like searching through notes and more like building a knowledge base that AI can actually reason over.
For finance work, that means I spend less time re-explaining context and more time analyzing the business. It’s become one of the more practical open-source AI tools I’ve used because it improves the quality of long-running research instead of just making individual prompts better.
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