Janie Sanchez
Hi there, I’m Janie, a design strategist turning complexity into clarity for people, teams, and futures.
Currently designing at Vanguard to help make financial goals feel actionable.
Wondering about the red underline? Ask me about it in computer class.
reach out: hello@janiesanchez.com
02. Vanguard Conversational AI
Defining the future of how people connect with Vanguard.
Challenge / The rise of mainstream Generative AI in 2023 marked an inflection point, reshaping competitive capabilities and redefining user expectations.
My Role / As a designer and strategist, I helped define the full potential of this capability as a way to close current user gaps and future-proof our offering.
To scale toward this vision, I outlined clear, actionable paths that bridged near-term feasibility with long-term ambition.
Gap focus 1:
Human Connections
Exploring GenAI started with a core truth: Relationships matter at Vanguard, but there are gaps in how human connection takes place.
Key satisfaction gaps
- Our research at Vanguard found that client satisfaction with personal advice varied widely.
- My synthesis connected gaps that GenAI could help fill in existing relationships, and that we could also scale to self-directed investors that don’t yet have a personal advisor via an experience that is:
- Available + highly responsive
- Knowledgable + prepared
- Warm + personable
Happy
- Connection feels deeply human and personalized
- Advisor is proactive, prepared, and shares important knowledge
- Expectations are set and met without surprises
Eh
- Spotty availability
- Inconsistent or impersonal connection
Frustrated
- Surface-level connection
- Unavailable advisor or unapproachable
- Interruptions due to advisor turnover
Gap focus 2:
Wayfinding
Pain points in wayfinding and navigation account for 18% of all user survey comments across digital channels.
Cognitive load, overwhelming information
Users reported difficulty completing top intents due to the complexity in information and lack of clear guidance.
Findability of key features
UX research identified 51 pages and components that clients have trouble locating, including tax documents, transaction history, and dividend/capital gains info.
Disparities across mobile + web
Users are disoriented by information architecture shifting across devices.
Solving for use cases
To bring our vision to life, we designed a hero conversation that solves for the above pain points, anchored around 3 experience pillars.
- Personalized + knowledgable
Understand users’ past, present, and future financial picture, mapped to the latest institutional regulations and considerations.
Provide contextual, helpful, and actionable next steps.
- Available + collaborative
Provide clarity to investors curious about scenarios and various outcomes in their portfolio.
- Proactive + connected
Provide tailored visibility into processes and adaptable as user financial goals and preferences evolve.
Competitive edge
By building paths to our conversational AI model, we build an edge against competitors in two ways:
Product stickiness:
Build competitive advantage through user historical data and interactions.
Macro-scale insights:
Uncover bird’s-eye user patterns, highlighting key strategic overlaps for the organization.
Early validation + application
Early user interviews validated perceived user value in ease, helpfulness, and usefulness across test applications.
click to listen!
“It makes me extremely comfortable and confident.
I’m a person who hates bots and everything automated...
I love that this takes it.. and says—Okay, I’m going to do what you want me to do, and go to the advisor and approve it.
I think this is your strongest tool yet”
—Samantha,
Personal Advisor Client
What’s next
We’ll continue to identify and validate low-lift ways to step into the full potential of this capability, while remaining user-centric in our discovery.
Our sister team used our proof of concept to test an internal AI beta for phone and chat support teams.
Opportunities for near experimentation
- Internal Conversational GenAI to help improve chat support expertise and efficiency.
- Phone transcripts and summaries to improve continuity in relationship and case handling.
- Wayfinding GenAI pilots as a low-risk path to navigate regulatory and ethical limitations.
Janie Sanchez
About
Hi there, I’m Janie, a design strategist turning complexity into clarity for people, teams, and futures.
Currently designing at Vanguard to help make financial goals feel actionable.
Wondering about the red underline? Ask me about it in computer class.
reach out: hello@janiesanchez.com
Hi there, I’m Janie, a design strategist turning complexity into clarity for people, teams, and futures.
Currently designing at Vanguard to help make financial goals feel actionable.
Wondering about the red underline? Ask me about it in computer class.
reach out: hello@janiesanchez.com
02. Vanguard Conversational AI
Defining the future of how people connect with Vanguard.
Challenge / The rise of mainstream Generative AI in 2023 marked an inflection point, reshaping competitive capabilities and redefining user expectations.
My Role / As a designer and strategist, I helped define the full potential of this capability as a way to close current user gaps and future-proof our offering.
To scale toward this vision, I outlined clear, actionable paths that bridged near-term feasibility with long-term ambition.
Gap focus 1:
Human Connections
Exploring GenAI started with a core truth: Relationships matter at Vanguard, but there are gaps in how human connection takes place.
Happy
- Connection feels deeply human and personalized
- Advisor is proactive, prepared, and shares important knowledge
- Expectations are set and met without surprises
Eh
- Spotty availability
- Inconsistent or impersonal connection
Frustrated
- Surface-level connection
- Unavailable advisor or unapproachable
- Interruptions due to advisor turnover
Key satisfaction gaps
- Our research at Vanguard found that client satisfaction with personal advice varied widely.
- My synthesis connected gaps that GenAI could help fill in existing relationships, and that we could also scale to self-directed investors that don’t yet have a personal advisor via an experience that is:
- Available + highly responsive
- Knowledgable + prepared
- Warm + personable
Gap focus 2:
Wayfinding
Pain points in wayfinding and navigation account for 18% of all user survey comments across digital channels.
Cognitive load, overwhelming information
Users reported difficulty completing top intents due to the complexity in information and lack of clear guidance.
Findability of key features
UX research identified 51 pages and components that clients have trouble locating, including tax documents, transaction history, and dividend/capital gains info.
Disparities across mobile + web
Users are disoriented by information architecture shifting across devices.
Solving for use cases
To bring our vision to life, we designed a hero conversation that solves for the above pain points, anchored around 3 experience pillars.
- Personalized + knowledgable
Understand user’s past, present, and future financial picture, mapped to the latest institutional regulations and considerations.
Provide contextual, helpful, and actionable next steps.
- Available + collaborative
Provide clarity to investors curious about scenarios and various outcomes in their portfolio.
- Proactive + connected
Provide tailored visibility into processes and adaptable as user financial goals and preferences evolve.
Competitive edge
By building paths to our conversational AI model, we build an edge against competitors in two ways:
Product stickiness:
Build competitive advantage through user historical data and interactions.
Macro-scale insights:
Uncover bird’s-eye user patterns, highlighting key strategic overlaps for the organization.
Early validation + application
Early user interviews validated perceived user value in ease, helpfulness, and usefulness across test applications.
click to listen!
“It makes me extremely comfortable and confident.
I’m a person who hates bots and everything automated...
I love that this takes it.. and says—Okay, I’m going to do what you want me to do, and go to the advisor and approve it.
I think this is your strongest tool yet”
—Samantha,
Personal Advisor Client
What’s next
We’ll continue to identify and validate low-lift ways to step into the full potential of this capability, while remaining user-centric in our discovery.
Our sister team used our proof of concept to test an internal AI beta for phone and chat support teams.
Opportunities for near experimentation
- Internal Conversational GenAI to help improve chat support expertise and efficiency.
- Phone transcripts and summaries to improve continuity in relationship and case handling.
- Wayfinding GenAI pilots as a low-risk path to navigate regulatory and ethical limitations.
Janie Sanchez
About
Hi there, I’m Janie, a design strategist turning complexity into clarity for people, teams, and futures.
Currently designing at Vanguard to help make financial goals feel actionable.
Wondering about the red underline? Ask me about it in computer class.
reach out: hello@janiesanchez.com
Hi there, I’m Janie, a design strategist turning complexity into clarity for people, teams, and futures.
Currently designing at Vanguard to help make financial goals feel actionable.
Wondering about the red underline? Ask me about it in computer class.
reach out: hello@janiesanchez.com
02. Vanguard Conversational AI
Defining the future of how people connect with Vanguard.
Challenge / The rise of mainstream Generative AI in 2023 marked an inflection point, reshaping competitive capabilities and redefining user expectations.
My Role / As a designer and strategist, I helped define the full potential of this capability as a way to close current user gaps and future-proof our offering.
To scale toward this vision, I outlined clear, actionable paths that bridged near-term feasibility with long-term ambition.
Gap focus 1:
Human Connections
Exploring GenAI started with a core truth: Relationships matter at Vanguard, but there are gaps in how human connection takes place.
Happy
- Connection feels deeply human and personalized
- Advisor is proactive, prepared, and shares important knowledge
- Expectations are set and met without surprises
Eh
- Spotty availability
- Inconsistent or impersonal connection
Frustrated
- Surface-level connection
- Unavailable advisor or unapproachable
- Interruptions due to advisor turnover
Key satisfaction gaps
- Our research at Vanguard found that client satisfaction with personal advice varied widely.
- My synthesis connected gaps that GenAI could help fill in existing relationships, and that we could also scale to self-directed investors that don’t yet have a personal advisor via an experience that is:
- Available + highly responsive
- Knowledgable + prepared
- Warm + personable
Gap focus 2:
Wayfinding
Pain points in wayfinding and navigation account for 18% of all user survey comments across digital channels.
Cognitive load, overwhelming information
Users reported difficulty completing top intents due to the complexity in information and lack of clear guidance.
Findability of key features
UX research identified 51 pages and components that clients have trouble locating, including tax documents, transaction history, and dividend/capital gains info.
Disparities across mobile + web
Users are disoriented by information architecture shifting across devices.
Solving for use cases
To bring our vision to life, we designed a hero conversation that solves for the above pain points, anchored around 3 experience pillars.
- Personalized + knowledgable
Understand user’s past, present, and future financial picture, mapped to the latest institutional regulations and considerations.
Provide contextual, helpful, and actionable next steps.
- Available + collaborative
Provide clarity to investors curious about scenarios and various outcomes in their portfolio.
- Proactive + connected
Provide tailored visibility into processes and adaptable as user financial goals and preferences evolve.
Competitive edge
By building paths to our conversational AI model, we build an edge against competitors in two ways:
Product stickiness:
Build competitive advantage through user historical data and interactions.
Macro-scale insights:
Uncover bird’s-eye user patterns, highlighting key strategic overlaps for the organization.
Early validation + application
Early user interviews validated perceived user value in ease, helpfulness, and usefulness across test applications.
click to listen!
“It makes me extremely comfortable and confident.
I’m a person who hates bots and everything automated...
I love that this takes it.. and says—Okay, I’m going to do what you want me to do, and go to the advisor and approve it.
I think this is your strongest tool yet”
—Samantha,
Personal Advisor Client
What’s next
We’ll continue to identify and validate low-lift ways to step into the full potential of this capability, while remaining user-centric in our discovery.
Our sister team used our proof of concept to test an internal AI beta for phone and chat support teams.
Opportunities for near experimentation
- Internal Conversational GenAI to help improve chat support expertise and efficiency.
- Phone transcripts and summaries to improve continuity in relationship and case handling.
- Wayfinding GenAI pilots as a low-risk path to navigate regulatory and ethical limitations.