Australian financial advisers at the forefront of AI adoption 

Sarah Abood

A total of 82 per cent of Australian financial advice businesses are using, piloting, or planning to use AI to better serve clients in the next 12 months, according to the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) based on findings by the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB). This compares to two thirds (64 per cent) of advisers globally.  

The FPSB global research explores the current and intended use and impact of AI in financial planning. 

The main uses of AI for Australian financial advisers are client communication and engagement (29 per cent), collecting client information (22 per cent), and to a smaller extent, market analysis and investment (6 per cent). 

Half of all Australian financial advisers surveyed (50 per cent) believe that AI will enhance the quality of financial advice, and 64 per cent believe it will reduce the cost of providing advice to clients.  

FAAA CEO, Sarah Abood, said those advisers using AI see it as a way to reduce costs and broaden access to underserviced communities, helping make financial advice more affordable and more widely available.  

“One of the clearest messages we hear from our members is that overly complex regulation, while well meaning, has driven many advisers out of the profession, making financial advice more expensive and harder to access.  

“We need to cut unnecessary red tape and ensure that advisers can focus on delivering great outcomes for their clients. The research shows that a number of practices see AI as a useful tool in helping them achieve this.” 

The research also found: 

• 62 per cent of Australian advisers believe AI will increase access to financial planning for under-served populations
• 52 per cent are concerned about data privacy and cybersecurity, with a further 32 per cent showing concerns about accuracy and reliability of AI outputs
• Only 39 per cent said their business had a policy or provided guidance on the use of AI. 

“AI has risks, but it also offers real and immediate potential to help manage some of the complex regulatory and administrative burden advisers are faced with. We have had a focus at our recent events on what tools are available right now for advisers to use, and we will continue that focus at Congress this year in Perth (18-20 November 2025). We will have several sessions on the topic, covering different aspects of AI, responding to our members’ interest in finding out more about this transformational technology.”