Most Americans have never used ChatGPT. The majority aren’t interested in using generative artificial intelligence tools specifically for financial advice, either, according to a new CNBC Your Money Survey — at least not yet.
Slightly more than one-third of U.S. adults — 37% — are interested in using AI tools to help them manage their money, the CNBC survey found. The survey, conducted by Survey Monkey, also found that 11% are “very interested” and 4% already use AI tools for money management.
“What we learned, though, was most people who are consulting these resources are verifying what they hear with a financial advisor,” said Kevin Keller, CEO of the CFP Board, a professional organization for certified financial planners.
A recent CFP Board survey found that about half of adults — 51% — have little or no trust in financial advice from AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Google Bard, and only 31% are comfortable implementing financial advice from a Generative AI-powered tool without verifying it with another source.
“When I am not feeling well, I’ll look up [symptoms] online before I go to my doctor, and I think it’s the same kind of thing,” Keller said. “People feel comfortable verifying the information.”
“We think the best advice is digitally enabled, but yet human delivered.”
People can check out their options for managing and investing money online or on an app — but when it comes to making important decisions about their money, many prefer to talk it out with a financial advisor.
“Financial planners are helping clients make good money decisions about the most important things in their life, like retirement, buying a house, funding college for their kids [or] starting a business,” said certified financial planner James Lee, founder and president of Lee Investment Management in Saratoga Springs, New York.
“These conversations happen over the course of a lifetime, are deeply personal and cannot be answered by just typing in a question to Chat GPT,” said Lee, who is also president of the Financial Planning Association, the largest professional organization for financial planners.
The CFP Board survey also found that investors demonstrate more confidence in advice from AI tools after vetting it with a financial planner.
“The way I like to explain it is until my computer can hand a tissue through the computer screen to my client,” Lee said, “I don’t fear that I will be replaced.”
