For all the talk about the potential for artificial intelligence to replace financial advisors, a new survey suggests an alternative scenario -- that clients will use AI as a second opinion. Americans who use an advisor are far more likely to consult AI for financial advice than those who don't, according to the poll, fielded by Evergreen.ai, an AI-powered financial advice and planning app.
In a recent poll of nearly 2,000 Americans, Evergreen found that almost 64% of those who have a financial advisor said that they have asked AI about money issues. Among respondents who don't use a human advisor, that figure dropped to 38.5%.
Among all survey participants, 48.4% said that they have asked an AI chatbot about their finances in the past year. Of those who did, nearly 78% said they acted on the response they received.
"Americans are desperately seeking financial guidance," says Evergreen founder and CEO Bill Harris. "They are looking for answers wherever they can find them."
The survey showed that some respondents are using AI independently from their advisor. The participants with an advisor were far more likely to act on an AI-generated recommendation without researching it than those without an advisor. Evergreen concludes that "rather than replacing professional advice, AI appears to be layering on top of it, often without the same scrutiny."
That finding could be a product of so-called hybrid clients, those who work with an advisor who oversees a managed account while also maintaining a separate, self-directed account.
The survey also uncovered some familiar patterns, such as the lower confidence reported by respondents without an advisor compared with those who work with a financial professional.
Retirement uncertainty. Respondents indicated uncertainty around retirement planning and hesitancy to make major financial decisions. More than 42% of survey participants said that they had never bothered to estimate how much money they will need for retirement. Of those, nearly one-third said they expect to retire within 15 years.
Almost 90% of respondents said that they had put off at least one financial matter longer than they should have in the past year, with more than half saying they don't know where to start or that they have difficulty understanding their options.
"People are making decisions about taxes, retirement, and their financial futures without always having the answers they need," Harris says. "A human advisor remains invaluable, especially for complex decisions, and more people deserve access to clear information along the way."
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