Throughout the week in our In Focus series, we’ll be looking at how financial advice firms are using, and can use, artificial intelligence (AI) in ways that are practical, responsible and commercially valuable. With AI firmly at the centre of industry debate, we’ll hear from a range of experts who will share hands-on insights, real examples and clear guidance on how to introduce AI safely and effectively.
Damian Davies of The Timebank cuts through the AI hype for us, with a wry, adviser-focused overview on how you can use artificial intelligence in your advice business for what really matters in 2026: less paperwork, fewer repeat tasks and more time with clients. As Damian explains below, think evolution, not robots, and definitely fewer headaches.
I understand why people fixate on new beginnings at the start of the year, even if it is illogical.
Like rings on a tree, you can count off every January when we are told this will be the year everything changes. I mean, this year might be the one; we might all get vapourised by Vlad. That would be quite a change!
Assuming that doesn’t happen, and although we’re almost at the end of January, we still want to plan. It appears that the real opportunity for advisers is not transformation. It is reduction!
This is where Artificial Intelligence (AI) comes into play.
And how exactly? Well, facilitating less admin, less repetition and less time spent proving things you already know to be true are some of the obvious areas.
AI can be really good at that. In the following overview, I am going to outline some things you can start to think about for your advice business this year, and a couple of useful tools.
Reality Check
Before that, it is worth being clear about what AI is not.
- It is not creative: AI cannot do original thought, artistic expression, and emotional nuance. These are rooted in uniquely human experiences (for now!).
- It is not emotional: AI struggles with empathy, compassion and obviously can’t do physical interaction. When it makes you feel it is being nice in how it engages with you, it feels like that fake smile.
- It struggles with strategic decision: AI struggles with complex problem solving and ethical judgment in unpredictable situations. That needs real human experience.
What it is, is a relatively reliable way of dealing with large volumes of words and to a lesser extent, numbers.
So, it is never going to replace the jobs we all do. It will ENHANCE us.
Where to start
Start with PROCESS.
I was asked by Sue and Jenny at IFA Magazine to write this article about how advisers might use AI with the theme ‘New Year, New Opportunities’. If I am being honest, I think ‘New Year, Fewer Headaches’ is probably more appropriate when it comes to AI.
If your current process is “we do what we did last time”, AI will not save you. It will just do the wrong thing faster and with more confidence.
Before implementing anything, you need to answer some unglamorous questions including the following:
- Where do we waste the most time?
- Where do we duplicate effort?
- Where do we already know what the answer will be, but still have to evidence it?
I might be wrong, but I reckon for many advisers and their teams, the answers to these are likely to cluster around the same pressure points; leads & enquiries, diaries, meetings, data, regulation and communication so I’ll scratch those itches a little.
Managing leads and enquiries
Most advice firms already have a CRM; Intelliflo, Xplan, Salesforce. Pick your poison.
Those systems will now include AI-driven features that will tag leads automatically, maybe score engagement and suggest follow-ups.
This does not mean the system decides who you deal with. It means it stops you treating every enquiry as equally urgent when they clearly are not.
Diary management
Diary management is one of the few areas where AI feels genuinely helpful and could be implemented IMMEDIATELY.
Outlook, Google Calendar, Calendly, and Microsoft Bookings already reduce scheduling friction. Some firms add tools like Motion or Reclaim to protect actual thinking time.
This only works if firms accept a simple truth. If everything is urgent, nothing is.
AI will enforce the rules you set. Or the absence of them.
Recording meetings
This is where AI delivers value for our profession specifically, without needing a systems overhaul.
Most advice firms are drowning in meetings; clients, internal, providers, compliance. The problem is not the meetings, it’s what happens afterwards.
Or more accurately, what does not.
AI meeting tools can now:
- Record meetings with consent
- Transcribe them accurately
- Produce structured summaries
- Extract actions, decisions, and follow-ups
Tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Otter, and Fireflies already do this reliably.
The practical benefits are obvious:
- Advisers can focus on the conversation, not note-taking
- Action points are captured consistently
- Nothing relies solely on memory
Used properly, this becomes one of the strongest audit trails a firm can have. Used lazily, it becomes a large collection of unreviewed transcripts nobody trusts.
Some tools will allow you to prompt the AI what to do with transcriptions, so rather than just having summaries and action plans, you can instead ask it to act like an adviser.
For example, a prompt I spotted on substack went along the lines of:
“Reveal the unstated assumptions or blind spots shaping this argument and what changes if they’re wrong.”
How powerful would that be for an adviser when analysing the conversation with a client around their objectives?
Managing data
Advice firms produce an impressive amount of documentation. Finding anything later is another matter.
Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and OneDrive now allow AI-powered search and summarisation through Copilot. This means transcripts, meeting notes, suitability reports, and emails can all be searched sensibly rather than manually.
Cross-referencing CIPs and Consumer Duty to recommendations
I can’t imagine any firms do not have a Consumer Duty Audit and CIP process document now, but how many can prove how they follow or deviate from these?
Comparing advice in suitability reports to Consumer Duty and CIP documentation would be dull, repetitive, but important. Which makes it ideal for AI!
Using secure tools such as Microsoft Copilot or enterprise-grade AI environments, firms can highlight alignment, flag drift and identify where justification is thin.
This does not replace judgement. It replaces the fifth re-read of the same document.
As ever, poor inputs produce poor outputs. If your CIP is vague, AI will not save you. It will just underline the problem.
If, however, you can take a concise report to your PI insurer to prove how watertight your proposition and delivery are in alignment, and how well controlled your risks are, how much could you screw down their premiums?
Communication
AI is excellent at drafting emails and follow-ups, particularly when fed structured meeting notes.
The rule remains unchanged; AI drafts. Humans send.
This improves clarity and consistency without surrendering responsibility.
The way ahead
AI is not here to replace advice. It is here to remove friction, repetition, and administrative drag.
Meeting recording and actionable notes are a perfect example. Nobody buys an advice firm for its note-taking skills. But everyone suffers when notes are poor.
Used properly, AI gives advisers back attention in client meetings. Which, in a profession built on listening, is probably the point.
Importantly, as a profession we need to be careful not to dive into AI blindly. AI tools, particularly those that record meetings, process client data, or analyse documentation, almost always involve personal data. Often special category data. Sometimes more of it than firms realise. That means thinking about GDPR before implementation, not after something goes wrong.
If you are introducing a tool, you should assume that a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) is required.
This does not mean a 40-page document written by committee. A DPIA is meant to answer some very basic questions:
- What data is being processed?
- Why is it necessary?
- What are the risks to clients?
- How are those risks mitigated?
If you cannot answer those questions clearly, that is a warning sign. Not an administrative inconvenience.
One of the biggest GDPR risks with AI tools is not what they do, but where the data ends up. Before using any tool, firms should be able to know where the data is stored, if it is used to train models, if it is shared with third parties, how long it is retained and how it is deleted. “Enterprise” and “business” versions of AI tools exist for a reason. Consumer-grade tools often trade cost for control. That is rarely a good exchange when client data is involved.
Consent, transparency, and recording meetings
If you are recording meetings, consent and transparency are not optional extras.
Clients should know that meetings are being recorded and why, how recordings and transcripts are used and how long they are kept. This should be reflected in privacy notices and explained in plain English.
If a client objects, firms need a clear alternative process. AI convenience does not override client rights.
Purpose limitation
One of the easiest GDPR mistakes to make with AI is scope creep. A tool introduced to summarise meetings quietly starts being used for training, monitoring staff, or analysing behaviour. All without anyone updating the DPIA or privacy notice.
If the use changes, the governance should change with it. AI can save time, reduce friction, and improve consistency. It can also create risk quickly if adopted casually. The difference between those two outcomes is rarely the technology. It is the governance around it.
If a firm can explain why it uses a tool, how it protects client data, and who remains responsible, it is usually on solid ground. If it cannot, that is probably where it should start.
So, this is a strong jumping off point for firms wanting to use AI.
Having got this far, presumably you have read the full article. I would be fascinated to know whether you think I wrote every word, or whether I used an AI tool to help me.
About Damian Davies
Damian’s career in financial services started back in 1997 as a young IFA before then finding his calling as a Paraplanner.
In 2002, Damian started an outsourced paraplanning business called The Timebank.
The Timebank has developed to be one of the primary sources of support available to advisers and planners and looks after clients in the UK and overseas. Damian says that since 2002, one thing is clear; “There is an unstoppable evolution of financial advice from a sales industry to a professional service.”
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