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From creative professions to the tech sector, AI is shaking up industries and daily workflows. And it\u2019s coming for the financial services industry next\u2014whether investors are ready or not.<\/p>\n
A new report<\/a> from Deloitte Center for Financial Services posits that generative AI-enabled applications could become the leading source of advice for retail investors by 2027. It\u2019s already being used by financial companies to power\u00a0customer-facing chatbots, prevent fraud, and speed up other tasks like coding. But Deloitte\u2019s analysts say it will soon take a much larger role in helping customers fine-tune investment plans.<\/p>\n \u201cInvestment advice through gen AI could be easily accessible to investors in the next few years as financial institutions roll out revamped advice engines powered by gen AI,\u201d Deloitte\u2019s report reads. \u201cIt is likely that investors will start to expect gen AI-powered investment tools.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Deloitte\u2019s report deems AI-powered financial advice an inevitability, other research finds that many investors themselves aren\u2019t on board\u2014at least not yet. Most Americans report being skeptical of the potential of AI when it comes to their personal finances, according to data released Tuesday<\/a> from Northwestern Mutual\u2019s 2024 Planning & Progress Study, which surveyed almost 4,600 American adults earlier this year on a variety of financial topics<\/a>.<\/p>\n That said, there are some early signs of optimism. Perhaps unsurprisingly, younger Americans are less skeptical of using AI to achieve financial goals than older Americans. While only 41% of all adults say they\u2019re excited about the potential of AI in the financial industry, that includes 57% of Gen Zers and 55% of millennials.<\/p>\n Exactly what kind of financial tasks they trust AI to perform is the bigger question, but \u201chelping with a budget\u201d received the largest amount of support from those surveyed, while \u201ccreating a retirement plan\u201d received the least. That tracks with how the company envisions AI will start being used in peoples\u2019 finances, says Christian Mitchell, executive vice president and chief customer officer at Northwestern Mutual: by replacing the more mundane tasks of financial planners, like responding to clients or summarizing market trends, allowing them more time to focus on clients.<\/p>\n