How Americans Are Turning to AI, Advisors and Search for Money Advice

When Americans need financial guidance, they spread their questions across chatbots, advisors, family and search engines. Their choice often reflects how secure they feel about their money situation.

Gallup and Edward Jones surveyed 5,075 U.S. adults ages 21 and older, asking where they had gone for money advice over the previous year. Of the people who sought help, 73% researched on their own online, 32% consulted a professional financial advisor and 18% used AI tools.

Views on those sources were much different. Across all adults, 79% said they have at least some confidence in financial advisors’ expertise. For artificial intelligence, no more than 3 in 10 expressed that level of confidence, and just 3% said they have a great deal of trust in it.

Age shapes who people ask

Among those looking for guidance, about 1 in 4 Gen Z adults and millennials used AI, compared with 7% of baby boomers. The pattern reverses for advisors: 14% of Gen Z seekers spoke with one, while 55% of baby boomers did.

Trust shows a similar divide. Some 36% of millennials have at least some confidence in AI’s money expertise, compared with 15% of baby boomers.

How the financially fulfilled behaved differently

Gallup grouped respondents as financially stressed, conflicted or fulfilled. Among the fulfilled, 60% of those seeking guidance used a professional advisor. Among the stressed, the figure was 14%.

The stressed group relied more heavily on family (43% versus 19%), friends (28% versus 13%) and AI (21% versus 15%).

That relationship does not prove cause and effect. Gallup notes that being financially fulfilled is not simply the result of working with an advisor, and that income and net worth do not fully account for who feels fulfilled.

What AI can do, and what it cannot

AI can explain concepts such as a Roth conversion or a required minimum distribution, and it can help draft questions for an initial meeting. But it cannot see your tax return, pension documents or a spouse’s Social Security record unless you provide them.

Its answers also do not come with a legal duty to you. The Securities and Exchange Commission says an investment advisor is a fiduciary under federal law, with duties of care and loyalty. A general-purpose chatbot is not a registered investment advisor.

That difference matters most when deadlines, taxes or irreversible decisions are involved. It is also worth checking the cost before hiring help: a 1% fee on $1 million equals $10,000 a year.

Getting a person to review the plan

If you have $100,000 or more in investments and want an advisor to look over a retirement plan, Advisor.com offers a quiz that can match you with a fiduciary financial advisor.

Before hiring any advisor, ask for the firm’s Form ADV Part 2A, the brochure that explains fees and potential conflicts of interest.

Whichever path you choose, bring the same basic documents to the meeting: your most recent tax return, statements for every retirement account and your Social Security estimate from your online account.