Russell Bignall
Would you give a robot £100,000?
No, this isn’t the start of a new science fiction film; this is real life.
The advent of AI has led many people to consider consulting the likes of Chat GPT and Claude for advice on what to do with their money.
Research from the Financial Conduct Authority found 16% of consumers trust general-purpose AI tools for financial advice.
Nothing wrong with that, you might think – after all, these behemoths of AI have had millions of inputs and can draw on vast resources to come up with answers.
But are these answers always right?
Well, I’m afraid to say that the answer to that is “no”.
A recent report by financial technology specialist Saturn found that AI models give wrong answers to financial inquiries on average 57% of the time.
On “harder” financial questions, AI models including Chat GPT, Claude, Grok, CoPilot and Gemini made mistakes, on average, in 88% of cases.
And some AI models gave wrong answers to 99% of those more complex questions, the research found.
The problem is that AI models sound so convincing and so assured – by design – that it is easy to think they can’t be wrong.
Do that and you could end up with the financial equivalent of Michael in The US Office blindly following sat nav instructions into a lake – the Saturn research discovered that in one case, following AI financial advice could have resulted in a pension saver facing a £17,500 charge from HMRC.
Add this to the tendency for AI models to create hallucinations – in one notable case claiming that Pope Francis was still alive in 2026 – and you have a recipe for potential financial disaster.
Aside from the mistakes and other potential pitfalls of trusting too much in technology, there are other things which AI can miss when it comes to financial planning.
One of the most crucial of these is emotion – as a machine, AI cannot really tell how you feel.
It may interpret your words to think it knows what you are feeling, but not being human itself, it cannot empathise with you, put itself in your shoes and advise you from that standpoint.
A human financial adviser will be able to take into account how you feel about your finances, find out what your priorities are in life and discover your hopes and dreams.
When talking about family, an AI is likely to assume a traditional ‘nuclear’ set-up of a married couple with two or three children and make its recommendations on that.
The thing is that families in this day and age are complex.
Take mine for example – my mother and father married and divorced each other twice. My mother married for a third time to my stepfather who raised me. I have a stepbrother and stepsister as well as a sister and another sister from my father’s third marriage.
How is a computer model going to know how I feel about my family and subsequently what my priorities are when it comes to my finances?
It is only by having very human to human conversations that a financial adviser can really get under the skin of people’s lives, understand how their finances stand in relation to those lives and develop a plan which enables these often complex needs to be met.
Would you be comfortable talking to a computer about this kind of thing?
Some people may well do. However, another point to bear in mind about the likes of Chat GPT and Claude is that they are under no duty of confidentiality to you.
In fact, AI feeds on the information which it is given by people in order to grow its knowledge so the sensitive family and financial details which you are sharing apparently anonymously with your computer helper could find themselves repurposed in an answer to a complete stranger – or several thousand complete strangers. There is absolutely nothing to stop them doing so.
By contrast, regulated financial advisers in the UK have a strict duty of confidentiality to their clients. Only informed client consent or an official request from regulators such as the HMRC will allow an adviser to disclose your information to other people. Court orders, legal proceedings or financial crime and anti-money laundering obligations may also mean client information is shared.
This helps to build trust between you and your adviser that you can disclose important, sensitive information without fear of it going any further.
If your AI adviser gives you bad advice, how can you get redress?
At the moment, the simple answer is that you can’t.
AI chatbots like Gemini, Chat GPT and Claude are not authorised or regulated to give financial advice and cannot be held responsible for any financial losses incurred as a result of their guidance.
This situation has led to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) calling for artificial intelligence providers to introduce clearer warnings about the limitations of AI-generated financial advice – but as yet, beyond general statements such as ‘Chat GPT can make mistakes’ no such warnings are in place.
By contrast, regulated financial advice comes with a formal complaints and redress framework, including access to an independent ombudsman and a compensation scheme for eligible claims against failed firms.
Regulated financial advisers such as ours in Fairstone also have to comply with a range of rules and standards set by the FCA covering professional competence, ethical conduct, suitable personalised recommendations, transparent charges, ongoing service obligations, quality assurance and good client outcomes.
We take our responsibilities to you seriously – as we should.
All this is not to give the impression that I’m against technology.
In fact, at Fairstone we’re making increasing use of it – not to replace human interaction but to enhance it.
In the last few months, we’ve introduced an AI agent called Fairstone CoPlanner.
With client consent, this technology records client meetings with advisers, securely storing what has been discussed, and creates notes and follow-up actions from the meetings.
This means that instead of trying to listen with one ear while scribbling down notes to refer to afterwards, our advisers can concentrate 100% on what is being discussed and focus all their attention on the client.
The process also frees up some of the administrative work normally carried out by advisers after meetings, meaning that they can spend more of their time talking person to person.
One of the key things about the system is that it is human first, AI second – whatever CoPlanner produces is always reviewed by a financial adviser and that adviser remains firmly in charge of the process.
As a result, at Fairstone your advice will always be bespoke, personalised, fully regulated and resolutely human.
For regulated financial advice with a reassuringly human touch, talk to one of our advisers today.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is also not a reliable indicator of future performance. Always seek professional advice before making financial decisions.
AI tools can help explain financial concepts and organise information, but their answers can be inaccurate, incomplete or based on assumptions that do not reflect your circumstances. Check important information against authoritative sources and consider speaking to a regulated financial adviser before making significant financial decisions.
ChatGPT is a general-purpose AI tool, not an FCA-authorised financial adviser. Its responses should not be treated as regulated personal financial advice. The regulatory position depends on the activity being carried out, not simply whether AI is involved.
Accuracy varies according to the AI model, the question asked and the complexity of the subject. AI may explain straightforward concepts correctly but can make mistakes on complex pension, investment and tax questions. Independent verification is important before acting on an answer.
AI can help with research, calculations, explanations and administrative tasks, but it cannot reliably replace all the responsibilities of a human adviser. Professional advice involves understanding personal circumstances, assessing suitability, exercising judgement and providing an accountable service.
You should be cautious about sharing bank details, account numbers, identity documents or sensitive personal information with any AI service. Data handling depends on the provider, product, settings and applicable terms. Review the relevant privacy policy and avoid sharing information that is not necessary.
You can normally complain to the advice firm first. If the complaint is not resolved, you may be able to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. If an eligible advice firm has failed and cannot pay a valid claim, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme may provide compensation, subject to its rules and limits.
AI can support tasks such as preparing meeting notes, recording agreed actions and organising information. When used with appropriate consent, security measures and human oversight, it can help advisers spend more time understanding clients and less time on administration.
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