At a Financial Services Forum event hosted by AML, our Head of Strategy, Liz Wolstenholme, shared findings from AML x The Nursery’s 2026 Investor Index that showed how quickly habits are shifting. Nearly half of UK investors (49%) have used tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini for financial guidance. Liz also highlighted a striking age gap in attitudes to AI: 72% of investors aged 18–34 believe it can provide reliable financial advice, compared with just 13% of over-55s, although this gap is set to narrow somewhat in the future. Younger high-net-worth investors are among those leading the charge, often using AI to research their options alongside conversations with an adviser.
The question for brands is no longer simply whether customers use AI. It is what customers expect from a financial provider after AI has helped them form their first opinions.
Chaired by Alistair Welham of NOW:Pensions, the discussion brought Liz together with Robert Cochran of Scottish Widows, Eoin McCann of Fidelity International and Krisztian Komandi of Cowry Consulting. The panel considered what AI could change about access to financial guidance, trust and the relationship between customers and advisers.
A customer who has already explored their options with AI may arrive with sharper questions. They may also arrive with misplaced confidence in an answer that has lacked important personal context. This creates a huge communications challenge. Providers need to explain clearly what their guidance can and cannot do, when a customer would benefit from speaking to someone and why their expertise and accountability matter.
It also changes how brands can demonstrate the value of human advice. Information alone is less differentiating when it can be generated in seconds. Judgement, sensitivity and reassurance become more tangible reasons to turn to an adviser, particularly when someone is weighing up an uncertain or emotionally difficult decision. As the panel discussed, AI can help a person make sense of their options; deciding what is right for them is another matter.
Clarity is especially important around the distinction between guidance and regulated advice. The FCA has warned that general-purpose AI tools can produce inaccurate or outdated information. It is not the same as receiving regulated financial advice. For brands, explaining that difference in clear language that customers can understand is key for earning their trust.
AML’s strategic experts can play a pivotal role in helping financial services forge that trust with clients. The Investor Index reveals how investors’ expectations are changing; the task for brands is to turn that understanding into clearer propositions and more useful messaging together with considered customer journeys that help to direct people towards human advice when it matters most. AI may be where the research begins. But it is our responsibility to ensure it ends with robust, regulated advice.
