Eighty-five percent of financial advisers view generative AI — AI that can be used in generating new content — as a help to their practice, a surge up from 64% in 2024, according to an Adviser360° study. What’s more, 76% say they’ve repeated immediate benefits from Gen AI-enabled tools, the survey found. But what exactly are financial planners doing with AI — and what does it mean for their clients?
Of course, some AI may be used to automate certain aspects of client portfolios, but financial advisers tell us that often they’re using it more to help with efficiency and workflows, allowing them to focus on personal relationships with clients. (Use this free tool from our partner SmartAsset that can match you to a fiduciary adviser, as well as resources like NAPFA and the CFP Board.)
“I do not see it replacing advisers — there are nuances to planning that are found only through face-to-face interaction,” says Don Grant, a certified financial planner at Sabre Wealth, adding that “AI can be a time-saving tool for advisors — freeing up more time for advisors to spend with clients, rather than the administration of client accounts.”
We asked seven certified financial planners and wealth managers how they’re incorporating AI into the workplace.
‘AI can speed up the time it takes to research questions that come up in client meetings,’ says Brenton Harrison, founder and CFP at New Money, New Problems — who adds that you must also, of course, use it with caution.
“AI can speed up the time it takes to research questions that come up in client meetings about market movements, tax implications and general planning strategies, though I always double check sources. AI can save time on many functions of being advisor but using it as the sole source can cause problems.
For research-related topics where having the right facts is paramount, we need to be aware that AI models may be trained on incorrect information. Rewriting communications in your voice and using prompts requesting that all outputs provide source citations can make sure you’re articulating the right information. AI will change the financial industry, but the change will be in complementing advisor work and allowing them to scale and improve the services they offer to clients at a faster pace and lower cost.”
‘It can streamline portfolio management, identify potential risks, help with communication or event scheduling,” says Cristian Mundy, CFP and wealth management director at Life Line Wealth Management.
“At a high level, AI has become a supporting player or tool, not a replacement for true financial advice. Where AI helps is efficiency and insight. It can streamline portfolio management, identify potential risks, help with communication or event scheduling and even personalize education for clients based on behavior patterns. Where it doesn’t help and where it can even create risk is when information is inaccurate, incomplete or too generalized. AI can generate data and projections, but a CFP professional helps interpret that information responsibly, through a fiduciary lens, ethical standards and a deep understanding of each client’s full financial picture.”
‘We use it in team meetings, for annual reviews and investment reviews,’ says Laura LaTourette, CFP and managing partner, senior wealth adviser at Family Wealth Management Group.
“AI use has cut our time down on administrative tasks. We are all in on AI for admin! AI especially helps us with meetings. Our AI tool connects to my calendar and helps me prepare for meetings by gathering info from our notes and CRM.
We use it in team meetings, for annual reviews and investment reviews with current clients, and for financial planning meetings where we have different forms it completes as we speak with clients. I’ll be using it for the annual meeting of a board I am on, where I am the investment advisor. I also use AI to dictate notes.”
‘I use Chat-GPT 5 for some answers relating to analyst estimates and reporting dates,’ says Steven Conners, founder and president of Conners Wealth Management.
“I use Chat-GPT 5 for some answers relating to analyst estimates and reporting dates. It is better since it pulls from all sources on the internet. As for other tasks, considering most clients prefer clear and concise communication, it can be helpful to put into words what your thoughts are.
I don’t believe that utilizing AI this early for portfolio management is viable. I think it’s too subjective still for AI to learn the subjective aspects of money management. It doesn’t know one’s clients’ emotions regarding money, potential loss of principal and other key advisor attributes that are significant in providing an overall positive client experience.”
‘I rely on AI to help redact and polish emails, improve communication with clients and peers, and serve as a thinking partner,’ says Otto Rivera, CFP, investment adviser and financial planner at White Lighthouse Investment Management.
“My use is cautious and limited and I never include client information or private data for obvious security and privacy reasons … Primarily, I rely on AI to help redact and polish emails, improve communication with clients and peers, and serve as a thinking partner. During my commute, I sometimes talk through scenarios and challenges with ChatGPT, and it often helps me explore new ways to solve both simple and complex problems.
However, I’ve found it unreliable for precise research or data-driven questions. In many cases, the responses include inaccuracies or outdated information, so I always verify and correct details before applying them.”
‘I don’t need to write [notes] from scratch. It does not replace the task, it helps expedite the task of notetaking,’ says Don Grant, CFP at Sabre Wealth.
“AI is present for meetings, and the program sifts through and creates an executive summary of the meeting, and has the ability to suggest workflows for distributions, account change/opening, allocation changes, etc. It has saved me countless hours. Now, I just need to thoroughly edit meeting notes… I don’t need to write them from scratch. It does not replace the task, it helps expedite the task of notetaking.”
‘There has been a noticeable help or benefit to overall efficiencies, especially when it comes to certain chore-like tasks, says Daniel Milan, investment adviser representative and managing partner at Cornerstone Financial Services.
“This year, I have begun to incorporate AI tools across the entire firm. My goal was to determine areas where I could improve efficiency for staff and advisors, which would subsequently increase overall bandwidth and client service capabilities. Thus, I started with integrating Microsoft CoPilot across our Office 365 software as well as researched CRM options in an effort to identify […] a new CRM that was embracing AI within their platform aggressively. That diligence led to a decision to integrate Wealthbox into my firm’s tech stack.
I also built a handful of our own AI agents to assist with investment research, earnings call research, account opening processes, etc. So far, there has been a noticeable help or benefit to overall efficiencies, especially when it comes to certain chore-like tasks, meaning the more time consuming and monotonous ones.”