Do Clients Really Trust AI with Money Questions?
Nearly half of Americans say AI beats everyone they know regarding financial guidance, according to a new survey.
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Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming the go-to resource for, well, pretty much anything. ChatGPT is practically the new Google, while Grok could be the next Ask Jeeves — boom, roasted.
We all know people consult AI for their money questions, but just how much they trust the answer might be surprising. Nearly half of Americans believe AI is superior to all the people in their life when it comes to asking for financial information and guidance, according to a survey from BestMoney.com, a financial products comparison site. Don’t get too nervous, though. There’s a bit of nuance to that figure, and it’s not like clients are going to start rushing for the exit just because they’ve got a computer and internet connection at home.
“Financial talk is really intimate for most people because humans attach so much emotion and sometimes self-worth to the topic,” said Donald LaGrange, a CFP with Murphy & Sylvest. He wasn’t surprised by the figure because plenty of people aren’t transparent with their financial situations, so anybody listening for advice tends to take it with a grain of salt. “[We] celebrate the W’s and pretend the L’s didn’t happen,” he said.
A Word of Advice
While roughly a third of Americans say AI advice has never fallen short, the tech is not perfect, and there are still plenty of complaints:
- Some 38% of Americans say AI financial advice is often too generic.
- Other leading complaints are that the advice can be incomplete, out of date or overly cautious.
- A quarter say the recommendations lack context for their specific financial situations.
That last one is probably the most important data point to note and why financial advisors don’t see the rapidly evolving tech as a threat to their industry. “I do recommend that clients and advisors use AI as a tool, but not gospel,” said Thomas Balcom, Founder of 1650 Wealth Management.
The Executioner. Others see a distinction between investors who use AI and potential clients. “Those using AI as their advisor are the same people who used the robos and never had a human advisor,” said Marcos Segera, CFP with Evensky & Katz Wealth Management. “[They’re] the ones who like to get their hands dirty and be responsible for execution.”
