Growing use of AI for advice shows consumers want to engage but need help

Some 40 per cent of Britons have used tools like ChatGPT and Gemini for personal financial advice, according to 2025 research from comparison site Finder. One in six have used generative AI for investing advice and stock tips, and one in seven for tips on cryptocurrency.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Asking AI advice-related questions may lead to deeper financial engagement among consumers and could produce better outcomes for some people. The problem is that a positive experience is unlikely to be universal.

Chatbots, now often powered by large language models, rely on user prompts to generate human-like responses. The more detailed a prompt, the better tailored an answer.

When a financial adviser first meets a new client, it is their job to gather as much information possible. Advisers ask clients relevant questions about their personal life, such as whether they are married and have children, along with all sorts of questions that relate to their risk appetite, their financial goals, their time horizon, their assets and liabilities, and so on.

These questions help to build a holistic profile of the client so the adviser can tailor their advice to fit the client’s personal circumstances. This is the power of financial advice.

This sort of depth is incomparable to the prompts likely being given to LLMs by the typical consumer, who, in general, is not financially educated and would not be aware of the kind of detail they should be giving a chatbot to generate advice that even broadly corresponds to their personal circumstances.

This was plain to see when Sky News ran an experiment: what would ChatGPT, Microsoft Co-Pilot and Google Gemini do with £16,000 (the average savings of an adult in the UK)?

The results were much as you would expect; familiar funds were suggested, diversification was a problem, some suggestions lacked market insight and there were discrepancies between what the bot appeared to believe would be a good investment strategy and the actual funds or stocks suggested.

A desire to engage

Consumers are turning to AI for financial guidance because they have been priced out of the traditional advice market. The good news is, by using AI to try to better their personal financial situation, the public are clearly demonstrating they are hungry for personalised financial guidance to make their money work better for them. Bridging the advice gap is therefore a vital and timely undertaking.

Enter, targeted support. The targeted support regime is a new regulated activity that sits between generic guidance and full, personalised financial advice. Firms offering the service will be able to make suggestions and recommendations to groups of people with shared characteristics and financial needs.

Of course, the regime stops short of full financial advice. Nevertheless, there is no doubt it is a healthier, less risky alternative to relying on less-than-perfect AI responses, while still being accessible. Importantly, professionals are involved and therefore targeted support offers a level of protection that AI-generated responses simply can’t. It also may act as a precursor to full advice, opening the door to holistic, long-term planning for more people.

And, like with AI, many people are poised and ready to make use of the regime. Recent research from KPMG UK found nearly half (44 per cent) of people in the UK are confident they will use targeted support if it becomes available to them. That’s fantastic news. This is a once in a generation opportunity to bridge the advice gap and better the financial circumstances of millions of people in the UK. Banks, large advice firms, master trusts and platforms that offer the service should expect an influx of new customers.

The public’s growing use of AI for financial guidance signals clear intent: people are seeking ways to improve their financial circumstances and are willing to engage with new tools to do so.

For the financial services industry, this demonstrates demand for more accessible, relevant support. Firms now have an opportunity to meet that demand in a safer, more structured way. This should be cause for celebration; the appetite is there, and the industry is perfectly placed to respond.

This article first appeared in FT Adviser.