Every major technological shift creates the same debate: will it empower professionals to do more, or eventually replace them?
Artificial intelligence is simply the latest example and across financial services, AI has quickly become one of the most discussed topics in boardrooms, adviser firms and regulatory circles. However, alongside the genuine excitement about its potential, there are also understandable questions about what it means for the future of advice.
The FCA’s recent Mills Review reflects that tension, outlining a future where AI could reshape operational processes, customer journeys and competition across financial services. For some, that raises concerns about the future role of intermediaries.
I see it differently.
The greatest opportunity presented by AI is not replacing financial advisers, but it’s instead making high-quality advice more accessible, enabling advisers to support more clients, more efficiently, without losing the human empathy and expertise that sits at the heart of good outcomes.
At a time when our sector continues to grapple with challenges around access, affordability and consumer engagement, that opportunity matters enormously.
THE ADVICE GAP ISN’T A TECHNOLOGY PROBLEM
One of the biggest challenges facing financial services today is that demand, or rather need, for advice significantly exceeds capacity, as consumers navigate increasingly complex decisions around retirement funding, housing wealth, intergenerational wealth transfer and later life borrowing.
Yet many firms remain constrained by regulatory requirements, operational pressures and administrative workloads.
The reality is that much of an adviser’s day is spent gathering information, processing data, managing workflows and documenting recommendations and while these activities are essential, they aren’t where advisers deliver their greatest value.
Instead, that value comes from building long term relationships to fully understand a client’s needs, wants and circumstances, applying professional judgement and helping people make important decisions with confidence.
If AI can reduce the burden of repetitive, process-driven tasks, advisers gain something incredibly valuable: more time for meaningful client conversations. That should be viewed as an opportunity for the profession, not a threat.
WHY HUMAN ADVICE MATTERS MORE THAN EVER
This is particularly true in later life lending, where customers may be considering how to supplement retirement income, support children and grandchildren financially, repay existing borrowing or remain in their homes for longer as care needs arise. These decisions often involve multiple generations, competing priorities and significant life events.
No algorithm can fully understand the emotions involved when parents want to help a child onto the property ladder and equally, no automated process can replicate the reassurance that comes from speaking to an experienced adviser when making financial decisions that can have life-changing consequences on the individual and/or their wider family.
Technology can process information, but personalised human advice helps people understand consequences and provides the confidence to move forward – and as AI capabilities develop, that distinction becomes more important, not less.
A BIGGER OPPORTUNITY FOR SPECIALIST ADVICE
If technology takes on more standardised tasks, where does future value sit for advisers? In my view, increasingly within specialist advice areas where complexity, personalisation and professional judgement remain critical. Later life lending is a clear example.
The UK is sitting on trillions of pounds in housing wealth, while millions continue to face challenges around retirement income and long-term financial resilience. Policymakers have increasingly recognised the role housing wealth can play in retirement planning, with the FCA describing it as a potential “fourth pillar” alongside traditional pension provision.
At the same time, conversations are becoming far more sophisticated and they’re no longer solely about releasing equity, but about family wealth distribution, retirement resilience and creating greater financial flexibility. These are discussions that require expertise, context and sensitivity, and far from diminishing the role of advisers, technology has the potential to make those skills even more valuable.
MOVING FROM DISCUSSION TO ACTION
The firms most likely to thrive in the AI era will not be those adopting the most technology but will be those that successfully combine the efficiency of technology with the trust and expertise that comes from human advice.
That means using AI where it adds value, whether streamlining administration, enhancing client communications or improving research and operational processes. It also means strengthening the qualities clients value most: empathy, judgement, reassurance and relationships.
Successful firms won’t choose between people and technology, but will instead use technology to make their people even better. The challenge now is moving from discussion to practical implementation.
How do firms use AI safely? Where does it genuinely improve outcomes? How do they balance innovation with compliance and consumer protection while keeping clients at the centre of the process?
These are exactly the questions we will be exploring at the Air Evolve Summit on 6th October. Through live demonstrations, workshops and collaborative discussion, the event is designed to help advisers understand how technology can support better client outcomes while preserving everything that makes advice valuable.
Because ultimately, the future of advice is not a choice between humans and machines – it’s about combining the best of both.
