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.
In the following piece, Karen Barrett, founder and chief executive of Unbiased, addresses the surge in AI anxiety following the launch of new tools in the wealth market, arguing that advisers are not at risk of being replaced, but of being overtaken by competitors who adopt AI strategically, and explaining how the future belongs to professionals who use technology to accelerate growth, reduce administrative drag and strengthen client relationships.
When the announcement of a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool causes the share prices of established wealth managers to fall, it’s clear that AI anxiety is running high.
US-based wealth platform Altruist launched a new tax planning AI tool, Hazel, on 10 February, which led to share prices across UK firms, including St James’s Place (SJP), AJ Bell, and Quilter, dipping.
While this AI anxiety is understandable, the impact on the market signals a potential sink-or-swim moment for the industry as a whole.
AI is not going anywhere; in fact, it’s getting more powerful and building its capabilities by the second. So, it’s time to move beyond the debate about whether AI will bring risk or reward and start planning for a future where it is utilised as a partner.
The genuine value of AI is not in replacing the adviser,but expanding their abilities, freeing them from low-value tasks and empowering them to deliver what clients value most. Ultimately, providing them with the capabilities to scale and grow.
Where AI is overestimated
Let’s be clear, AI is not about to replace financial advisers.
The idea that an algorithm can replicate the nuanced, empathetic, and deeply personal service that a human adviser provides is unconvincing.
In fact, an Unbiased survey of over 800 UK adults found that just 6% would choose an AI platform alone for financial advice.
This is hardly surprising. Major financial decisions are emotional and complex; they require a level of trust and understanding that AI simply cannot build.
The true craft of an adviser lies in interpreting a client’s life goals, navigating complex family dynamics, and providing reassurance during volatile markets. This is where AI falls short.
The hype overestimates its ability to handle the human element. For advisers, this human touch is a durable competitive advantage that technology can support but never replace. However, this is no excuse for complacency. The real threat isn’t being replaced by AI; it’s being outmanoeuvred by a competitor who uses it.
Where AI is adding value
Instead of a replacement, we should view AI as an incredibly powerful accelerator. The same survey showed consumers acknowledge AI’s ability to play a supporting role when receiving financial advice.
Its genuine value is already emerging in three key areas.
- Client acquisition and growth
The way clients find advisers is changing. Alongside this, how consumers expect to interact with an adviser, especially during the first contact, is also developing.
At Unbiased, we’ve seen traffic from consumers using AI search tools to find financial advice grow by over 100% in the last year alone.
What’s also clear is that consumers nowadays are hard-wired to expect fast results, on-demand services, and immediate gratification, meaning the faster you can respond, the better your conversion rates will be.
We’ve recently harnessed this with our AI growth assistant, SmartAccept®, which learns an adviser’s unique client preferences and acts on them outside working hours. It ensures a valuable prospect is never missed,allowing firms to act faster and create more growth opportunities.
- Automating admin
A 2025 Unbiased survey revealed ‘less paperwork’ and ‘more automation’ among some of the key areas advisers believe would help them better serve clients.
There is an abundance of AI tools available to help advisers overcome these hurdles. From automating routine communications to streamlining compliance checks required in light of Consumer Duty, AI is taking on the heavy lifting.
In turn, this frees up invaluable time for advisers to focus on client-facing activities and deliver the high-quality, personalised advice that builds lasting relationships.
This shift is something we’re exploring as part of our ‘AI in Advice’ series, where we speak to cutting-edge firms that are already using AI to eliminate the administrative drag that consumes so much of an adviser’s day.
- Enabling data-driven strategy
For a modern adviser, data is a powerful tool for scaling their business.
AI can analyse vast datasets of consumer behaviour and market trends to identify patterns that would take an adviser hours of manual gruelling work to spot. It’s a principle I built Unbiased on, where we use machine learning across our own vast dataset to create the best possible matches between consumers and advisers.
By having these insights to hand quickly, firms can refine processes and focus on the right areas, such as scaling their growth strategies, better understanding which client segments are most profitable, and building a more predictable and sustainable business engine.
The future: The ‘AI-enabled adviser’
This leads us to the future, which is not a battle of ‘AI versus advisers,’ but one where the most successful professionals are ‘AI-enabled advisers.’
By embracing an ‘intelligence layer’ of AI tools to handle operational tasks, advisers can elevate their role, dedicating more energy to strategic thinking, complex problem-solving, and deepening client relationships, which will always be the bedrock of this industry.
It’s time for strategic AI adoption
The market is shifting, and client expectations for speed and personalisation are shifting with it. Firms that remain tied to purely traditional methods will struggle to compete.
By strategically adopting AI, advisers can harness its power to build more efficient, more profitable, and ultimately, more human-centric businesses, providing a better service to their clients.
That is a future we should be welcoming, not avoiding.
By Karen Barrett, founder and chief executive of Unbiased
Karen Barrett is the founder and chief executive of Unbiased, an AI-enabled financial advice platform, empowering people to make confident financial decisions and delivering unrivalled growth for advice firms. In 2024, Barrett was named Great British Entrepreneur of the Year and London Equity-backed Entrepreneur of the Year at the Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards. She also received the Woman of the Year Award in the fintech category at the 2024 Women in Financial Advice Awards.
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