Advisors are leaning into artificial intelligence to expand what they can do for clients, not as a prelude to being replaced. Advisor360°’s 2026 Connected Wealth Report finds that 90% of financial advisors don’t expect AI to make their jobs obsolete in the next decade, with most predicting that the role will evolve rather than disappear. Nearly seven in 10 say advisors will remain essential but with shifting responsibilities, while only 8% see AI making the profession redundant. 

Advisors already see AI as a growth catalyst. According to the survey, 90% are interested in using AI tools to broaden their services, particularly in tax planning, model creation, and retirement income planning. At the same time, 92% say clients increasingly expect a holistic, multi-faceted planning experience that goes well beyond investments.  

As AI handles more analysis and automation, advisors believe differentiation will hinge on human skills: they rank emotional intelligence and empathy, along with communication and coaching, as the qualities that will matter most for attracting and retaining clients, ahead of technical abilities such as AI tool management or data interpretation.  

Jason Quinn, Advisor360°’s COO, said advisors see AI as a way to “do more for clients—not less,” allowing them to deliver more sophisticated guidance without adding headcount or sacrificing quality.  

Yet rising expectations are exposing gaps in firm technology. For the first time in four years of Connected Wealth Report surveys, overall satisfaction with firm tech has declined, with 66% of advisors saying their platforms need improvement, up from 50% last year.  

Those describing their systems as “state of the art” fell to 28% from 35%, and advisors cite the lack of AI-enabled capabilities and poor integration as top pain points. Quinn argued that AI hasn’t just upgraded tools—it has “moved the goalposts,” shifting digital transformation from basic digitization to elevating the advisor experience end-to-end.