AI Is Changing How Clients Work With Advisors. Mostly for the Better

It’s safe to say AI is changing the wealth management industry. 

Advisors are deploying artificial intelligence tools that range from time-saving notetakers and meeting prep platforms to advanced tax- and estate-planning capabilities. Clients, for their part, are turning to Claude and ChatGPT to learn more about key financial topics and even build their own basic financial plans. Firms are enjoying greater capacity and more advanced planning at scale, which should benefit clients. 

While its overall effect will be net-positive, advisors said it’s also raising concerns.  False confidence in AI-generated information, both by unwary advisors and clients, has become top of mind. Another open question is how AI may change how advisors and prospects meet in the first place, as well as how firms may use AI to expand their client base, either up or down market. 

Better Advice Consumers 

AI now handles the “what is a Roth conversion” layer of financial planning, said Alvin Carlos, founder of District Capital Management. Many clients come to meetings already having used LLMs to answer what are essentially vocabulary questions, freeing up precious time for deeper planning and goal-setting. “That’s where a human advisor earns the fee,” Carlos said. 

Many clients run their questions through Claude before gleaning their advisor’s opinions, agreed Samantha Mockford, associate wealth advisor at Citrine Capital. She even saw one client build a “pretty robust” tool that stress-tests their financial plan. This person, a savvy investor and technology user, still wants humans to check for blind spots and provide context. 

The Advisor Angle. The wealth management industry is still in the “shiny object” phase of AI adoption, with many advisors focused on what peers are using rather than on differentiated, strategic applications, according to Jack Morgan, head of AI at Rise Growth Partners. While firms tout AI notetakers and other “gateway drug” tools for boosting efficiency, cost savings and productivity, Morgan said there is still limited evidence showing whether AI is improving client acquisition. “There needs to be more research to understand how AI is impacting not the ability to prospect with greater density, but greater depth,” he told Advisor Upside. “Are we finding the right relationships? Are we getting the right referral?”

Morgan argued that the firms best positioned to win the next generation of clients will be those that pair AI-powered self-service options with traditional hands-on advice. “The way clients vote is through referrals,” he said. “If AI is allowing you to be more present, engaged with client conversations and provide better advice, you’re going to see it show up in organic growth.”

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