From minutes to moments: Sun Life equips advisors with GenAI-powered notes assistant tool

New technology enables advisors to spend less time on note-taking, and more time helping Clients achieve lifetime financial security

Toronto, ON (June 26, 2025) – Sun Life Canada is pleased to announce it has developed and launched a Notes Assistant tool powered by GenAI to efficiently and securely summarize Client meetings for advisors. This technology enables advisors to move with purpose and speed, spending less time on administrative operations and more quality time with clients on the conversations that matter.

“This note-taking tool might be the best process upgrade delivered to advisors that I can recall in recent years,” said Chris Poole, President of CWP Financial Services Inc. and Certified Financial Planner, Sun Life. “Access to the tool is transforming how I spend my time with Clients, allowing me to focus my time and energy on the things that truly matter. The noticeable time saved is allowing our entire advisory team to level up even more on quality, speed and consistency which will continue to change the game for us and for the Clients we serve.”

As an early adopter of GenAI, Sun Life first launched this note-taking tool as a pilot in 2024 with a subset of advisors. Some of the key features include summarized Client meetings, a list of action items from the meeting, and draft Client emails that include next steps. In the pilot program, 100 per cent of advisors saved more than 15 minutes per meeting, and 65 per cent saved more than 30 minutes per meeting. The cumulative impact over a single day or week is significant. Notes Assistant also includes an action-items feature that results in improved speed and consistency in sending Client communications.

The pilot enabled the team to test for benefit while still upholding GenAI ethics and privacy principles. As with any new technology, Sun Life takes a thoughtful and responsible approach, balancing digital innovation with a long-held commitment to keep Client data safe and secure. Clients need to provide verbal consent before the tool is used, and data is not allowed to pass outside of Sun Life’s safe and secure technology ecosystem.

“Earning the trust of our Clients has been a foundational part of our business for the last 160 years. Listening to the needs of our advisors and Clients informs where we focus time and resources. We’re innovating to solve for a very real need, freeing up advisor time so they can further deepen relationships with Clients,” says Rowena Chan, President, Sun Life Financial Distributors (Canada) Inc. and Senior Vice-President, Retail Advice & Solutions. “Clients need trusted, tailored solutions, and this only comes from a rich, Client-advisor experience. If we can leverage GenAI to help make this happen, and complement our personalized approach, there is huge benefit for all.”

Sun Life’s Notes Assistant is just one of many initiatives being explored and launched by Sun Life to make it easier for Clients to connect and partner with advisors. Finding ways to streamline the day-to-day, enhances advisors’ abilities to help Clients to more easily reach their goal of achieving lifetime financial security. This innovation is part of Sun Life’s broader digital leadership journey, which is focused on delivering seamless, personalized and intuitive experiences across every touchpoint.

Sun Life has a history of being recognized as an industry leader, leveraging innovative solutions to empower colleagues, advisors and Clients. Sun Life was named a 2024 CIO Awards Canada winner for their Sun Life Asks GenAI chatbot, and continues to invest in technologies that enable ease and convenience. The Notes Assistant tool is just one more example of embracing digital innovation to meet the needs of Canadians, and further deliver on our Purpose, to help Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives.

About Sun Life

Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of March 31, 2025, Sun Life had total assets under management of $1.55 trillion For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

Note: All figures in Canadian dollars

SOURCE: Sun Life Financial Canada

Tags: Artificial Intelligence (AI), chatbot, financial advisors, Sun Life, virtual assistant