AI Saves FAs 4 Hours a Week as Integration Grows
Artificial intelligence is moving from experimentation into financial advisors’ everyday workflows, generating measurable productivity gains and becoming an increasingly important factor in where advisors choose to work, according to new research from AssetMark.
More than half of advisors using AI save at least four hours per week, equivalent to more than 200 hours—or 26 eight-hour workdays—annually, AssetMark’s 2026 Advisor Insights: Artificial Intelligence Report found. Among adopters, 39% reported saving four to less than eight hours weekly, while 15% saved eight hours or more.
Overall, 85% of advisors have adopted AI-integrated solutions to some degree, and 80% expect to increase their use during the next 12 months.
“The AI conversation in wealth management is moving past adoption,” said Alex Pape, AssetMark’s chief product and technology officer. The larger opportunity, he added, is enabling advisors to devote more time to clients, complex problems and work requiring human judgment.
Advisors are applying AI across numerous functions. Among adopters, 45% use it to generate meeting notes or summaries, 43% automate performance reports or dashboards and 42% summarize research. Another 42% use AI for risk analysis, while 40% automate workflows and scheduling.
Half of adopters said AI improved work quality, while 43% credited it with supporting business growth. Forty-one percent cited better client experiences and 40% reported increased revenue.
Registered investment advisors are moving faster than their broker-dealer-affiliated peers. AI adoption reached 91% among RIAs, compared with 81% of independent advisors affiliated with broker-dealers. RIAs also reported greater use of AI for drafting client communications, automating workflows and stress-testing portfolios.
Technology capabilities could increasingly affect advisor recruitment and retention. Sixty-nine percent of respondents would consider changing firms if their employer’s AI tools trailed competitors, rising to 78% among advisors managing at least $500 million.
The findings are based on an online survey of 400 U.S. financial advisors conducted from June 24 through July 7.