Some 94% of advisers polled in a Dynamic Planner survey expect artificial intelligence (AI) to be a positive for the financial advice industry.
In its Advice 2025 survey, which polled a cross section of more than 400 advice professionals in the UK, nine out of 10 professionals were positive about the implications for AI for the advice industry.
Early use cases of AI included meeting transcription and summarisation, document analysis and data extraction, and report generation and personalisation.
Positive sentiment was also driven by expectations that AI will reduce the cost to serve and enable firms to service more clients. According to the survey, while those in their mid-careers were a little less convinced of the benefits, younger respondents who are building their client bases found the latter benefit appealing.
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Despite the desire to embrace AI, the survey found only a third of those advisers polled are using the technology today, with just over half ‘actively investigating’ it and most of the remainder expecting it to become useful soon.
According to Dynamic Planner, the overall picture is of firms excited about the possibilities of AI, but yet to capture the benefits, and with the technology evolving rapidly, it noted this could be one are where significant changes are seen in next year’s survey.
Conducted online by Research Without Barriers, the survey was carried out in the first quarter of 2025 with the key aim of determining answers to questions such as the mood among advisers, the role of technology, and what the future might bring.
To this end, the survey also found that 86% of advisers expect their client base to increase over the next 12 months, while 72% said they are servicing more clients than a year ago, a trend they expect to continue.
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Commenting on the findings, Ben Goss, CEO at Dynamic Planner, said: “Our inaugural report has found a highly positive mood in an industry that is growing and thriving. In the advice sector, as in the world at large, change is a constant – but firms are rising to the challenges and facing the future with confidence.
“Standout themes from Advice 2025 include the rise of data and the transformative potential of artificial intelligence – clearly viewed by advice professionals as opportunities to be seized. The advent of both no doubt plays a part in supercharging the view that firms will increase their client base over the coming year.
“This industry has a vital role to play in driving investment, promoting financial resilience and improving retirement outcomes for an ageing population. Cost to serve has been a headwind, but firms now see the opportunity to grow and scale, bringing advice to more of those who need it.”
