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Dougie Kneller
Senior Technical Support Consultant

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How can financial advisers use AI safely and responsibly?

Published  13 October 2026
   5 min read

AI can save you time and make your work more efficient, but it's your expertise and judgement that make every recommendation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way we work, and financial advisers are no exception. Used responsibly, it can cut down admin-heavy tasks, help you communicate more clearly, and give you more time to focus on your clients. 
 
But AI shouldn't replace your expertise, judgement or decision-making. You're accountable for the advice you provide, the recommendations you make and the suitability of those recommendations.

Important

AI-generated content may not reflect the latest technical, regulatory, or legislative requirements.

Before using it:

  • check it against current legislation, regulations, rules, and guidance
  • apply your expertise to ensure it is accurate and appropriately interpreted
  • confirm it is suitable for your client's circumstances.

  • ️Use AI to help with research, preparing for meetings, and client communications

  • Review and check all AI-generated content before using it

  • Keep records of how AI has supported your work

  • Don't use AI to determine whether advice is suitable

  • Don't use AI to make recommendations on your behalf

  • Don't use personal client data and follow your firm's data security policies

Using AI in financial advice: at a glance 

Can financial advisers use AI?

Yes, financial advisers can use AI to support tasks like research, drafting documents and preparing for meetings.

However, advisers remain responsible for the advice they provide, the suitability of their recommendations and compliance with regulatory requirements. AI should support professional judgement, not replace it.

How is AI being used in financial advice?

Many advisers are already using AI to support parts of their advice process. 
Used responsibly, it can reduce the time you spend on admin, improve efficiency and help you get time back for what matters most – your clients.

You can make research and information gathering easier by having AI support you to:

  • summarise technical documents
  • highlight key points from provider literature
  • compare information from multiple providers and sources
  • identify areas that may require further investigation.

AI can help you prepare for your client meetings by: 

  • drafting meeting agendas 
  • compiling discussion points and questions 
  • summarising client information into clear, helpful overviews 
  • preparing explanations for complex topics
  • creating checklists for fact-finding discussions.

AI can help with the process and time taken to create suitability reports for your clients by: 

  • creating clear, structured report templates  
  • rewriting complex technical topics into plain English 
  • summarising meeting notes and fact-finds 
  • improving readability and consistency  
  • highlighting gaps or inconsistencies that need review.

AI can also help you create clearer, more consistent client communications by drafting: 

  • follow-up emails 
  • meeting summaries 
  • simple product explanations 
  • helpful educational content 
  • responses to common client questions.

One of the most valuable ways AI can support you is by helping to organise and document the evidence behind a recommendation. It can help you:

  • summarise the factors that influenced your recommendation 
  • pull together information from fact-finds, meeting notes and research into a structured summary 
  • highlight links between a client's goals, circumstances and your recommendation 
  • create first drafts of suitability reports 
  • identify where supporting evidence may be missing or needs further explanation 
  • rewrite technical reasoning in clear, client-friendly language 
  • check for consistency between what your client wants to achieve, the risks discussed and recommendation you've made 
  • summarise the other options you’ve considered and why they’ve not been recommended 
  • help document how your recommendation was reached.

AI can support clearer, more accessible communication for clients who may need additional help understanding their options by:

  • translating complex technical language into plain English 
  • reviewing communications for clarity, readability and, accessibility 
  • suggesting clearer formats for presenting information, like summaries, bullet points or Q&As 
  • highlighting areas where further explanation may be helpful 
  • checking whether communications are clear and accessible.

Advisers are also using AI for training and professional development to: 

  • explain technical concepts 
  • summarise regulatory developments 
  • create learning notes, knowledge checks and quizzes 
  • support continuous professional development (CPD).

Remember  

AI can help with research, communication, documentation and admin, but advice, suitability assessments and recommendations should always be based on your own professional judgement. 

How financial advisers can use AI responsibly

While AI can support parts of your advice process, you remain responsible for the advice you provide and the records you keep.  
 
Here are some practical tips for using AI safely and responsibly:

  1. Review any outputs – AI can and does make errors. You're responsible for your advice, so check that information is accurate, up to date, and is clearly supported by evidence before using it.
  2. Protect client and firm information – Don’t share any sensitive firm or client data on AI tools. You're responsible for protecting your client’s personal information and following your firm's data security policies.
  3. Keep records on AI usage – It's a good idea to keep track of when and how you’ve used AI to support your work. Keeping clear records can help demonstrate your advice is based on your judgement and decision-making.
  4. Use AI to support your judgement, not replace it – AI can help summarise information, organise evidence and draft content, but it shouldn’t make decisions for you. Professional judgement, analysis and final recommendations should always remain your responsibility.

 

What are the risks of using AI in financial advice?

While AI can improve efficiency and support parts of your advice process, it also carries risk if not used with care.

AI can make mistakes, including:

  • hallucinations or made-up information 
  • incorrect calculations or analysis 
  • misunderstood context.

AI may use outdated information, like:

  • regulatory changes 
  • provider updates 
  • product changes.

AI may not understand your client’s full situation, including:

  • personal circumstances 
  • goals and objectives 
  • attitude to risk.

AI poses data security and privacy risks, including:

  • exposing client data 
  • sharing confidential information 
  • breaching firm governance requirements.

All AI-generated output should be reviewed, checked for accuracy and used alongside your professional judgement.

What are the FCA's rules on using AI?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) allows firms to use AI, but it’s important to understand both the opportunities and risks. 

The FCA has published guidance on the adoption of AI across financial services, and how they can support your firm. Read the FCA's guidance here (opens in a new window).

 

Using AI for pension transfer advice

Pension transfers can be complex, especially when it comes to some older-style pensions like defined benefit pensions, which is why your judgement and expertise are essential.

Use AI to:  Don’t use AI to: 
Draft report structure or templates  Decide if a transfer is suitable 
Summarise client meetings Create a recommendation
Organise evidence and documentation Justify a recommendation that hasn’t been analysed
Create plain English explanations  Replace transfer analysis or due diligence 

 

A practical framework for using AI in financial advice

A helpful way to think about AI is through a simple three-step process – draft, check, and evidence.

  1. Draft - Use AI to structure information, summarise notes and create first drafts of documents and communications. 
  2. Check - Review the sources, facts, assumptions, and consistency of the content. Make sure it's accurate, up to date, and reflects your client's circumstances and your analysis.
  3. Evidence - Record how AI was used, what checks were carried out and any changes made before the output was used.

 

Example prompts you can use

We've listed a few example prompts to show how AI can support different parts of your advice process - remember to review any outputs carefully.

  • "Summarise these meeting notes into client objectives, key discussion points, risks discussed and agreed actions." 
  • "Rewrite this explanation in plain English for a client with limited technical knowledge." 
  • "Create a suitability report template using the following client objectives and discussion points. Leave any suitability assessment and recommendation for me to complete.” 
  • "Review this draft and highlight any areas where the client's goals, needs and proposed recommendation may require further explanation."

Frequently asked questions

AI can help draft meeting summaries, risk warnings and client communications, provided the output is reviewed carefully and accurately reflects the discussions you've had with your client. AI should support documentation and record keeping, not influence your client’s decision.

AI can help draft content, improve readability and structure, but the suitability assessment and recommendation must come from you.

Only where permitted under your firm's policies and governance framework. In most situations, personal client information should be anonymised or excluded.

No. Suitability requires professional judgement and regulatory accountability. AI should be viewed as a support tool rather than a decision maker. 

The FCA has published guidance about the adoption of AI across financial services, including how they can support firms. Read the guidance here (opens in a new window).

It’s good practice to evidence where and how you’ve used AI, so you can demonstrate recommendations were based on your own judgement. For example, if you used AI to draft a section of a suitability report, you might keep a copy of the original output, record the changes you made and checks you completed before including it in the final report.

Disclaimer

The information provided is based on our current understanding of the relevant legislation and regulations and may be subject to alteration as a result of changes in legislation or practice. Also it may not reflect the options available under a specific product which may not be as wide as legislations and regulations allow.

All references to taxation are based on our understanding of current taxation law and practice and may be affected by future changes in legislation and the individual circumstances of the investor.