Advised Clients More Likely To Trust AI Without Checking It

U.S. adults who work with financial advisers were more likely than those without advisers to use artificial intelligence tools for financial questions and follow the answers without checking another source, according to a survey released by Evergreen.AI in October.

The company called the finding the “advisor paradox.” Advised respondents reported greater confidence in their household finances and more knowledge of certain tax issues, yet they were more likely to rely on unchecked AI responses.

Evergreen.AI conducted the survey in August through SurveyMonkey Audience. It included 1,981 adults ages 25 to 75 who were the sole or shared financial decision-makers in their households. At least 60% of respondents did not work with a financial adviser. The sample included a larger share of people with more than $100,000 in investable assets. The survey did not identify a sponsoring party.

Overall, 48% of respondents said they had asked an AI tool a question about their finances. Among those respondents, 78% said they acted on the answer, while 29% said they followed the tool’s instructions without checking the information elsewhere.

People who worked with advisers were more likely to use AI for financial questions. About 64% said they had asked an AI tool about money, compared with an estimated 38% of people without advisers. In addition, 42% of advised respondents said they acted on AI responses without verifying them, compared with about 14% of those without advisers.

Respondents without advisers were more than three times as likely to say they did not know the tax impact of their largest recent financial decision. The figure was 38%, compared with 12% among advised respondents. They were nearly four times as likely to say they did not understand the tax implications of equity in their employer, at 23% compared with 6%.

People without advisers were also nearly three times as likely to report lacking confidence in their household finances as the year-end approached. The figure was 32%, compared with 11% among people who worked with an adviser.

Billy Spencer, a director and wealth manager at Boston-based Crestwood Advisors, told clients to verify AI-generated financial answers. Users can ask the wrong question and receive “a really good-sounding answer that is completely wrong,” he said. Spencer added that clients have increasingly told him they asked ChatGPT about financial topics. Those conversations can give clients more information and encourage them to raise questions they had previously avoided.

Melissa Bouchillon, managing partner at Sound View Wealth Advisors in Savannah, Georgia, has had more client meetings in which customers brought in strategies or claims suggested by AI. Some of the information was incorrect, she said.

Bouchillon recommended that advisers ask open-ended questions about clients’ use of AI and explain the privacy and cybersecurity risks of entering personal financial information into chatbots. Portfolio management is one part of an adviser’s work, she said, adding that human interaction remains important.

Evergreen.AI’s findings will remain available after the company shuts down its product. The app’s beta-testing period is scheduled to end Nov. 11, 2026, and the company said it will delete all user information at that time. Clients of Evergreen Wealth Advisors are scheduled to be transferred to other advisers or custodians by the end of 2026.

Financial technology entrepreneur Bill Harris, who previously led Personal Capital, Intuit TurboTax and PayPal, launched the AI-powered registered investment advisory firm Evergreen Wealth Advisors in 2023.