FECIF Editorial

AI: From Concept to Daily Practice

For many advisers, AI has already become part of everyday reality. Yet between hype and hesitation, one fact stands out: AI will not replace financial advisers – it will redefine their work.

According to the 17th AfW Intermediary Barometer, more than one-third of advisers already use generative AI tools such as ChatGPT daily, and another 16 % plan to do so within the next three months. Their expectations are clear: time savings (94 %), better sales support (53 %), and improved client service (38 %). AI has moved from experiment to essential. Remember the 1990s: when the Internet still felt complex and exclusive. That perception vanished quickly. The same is happening with AI.

From Knowledge to Questions

Technology alone does not define progress. We are leaving the knowledge economy and entering the question economy. When every fact can be generated instantly, value lies not in knowing but in asking. The challenge for advisers is to frame the right questions: Which problem is worth solving – not just how to solve it.

New Skills, New Ethics

This transformation demands new skills. Advisers must evolve from product experts to interpreters of human goals, combining empathy with analytical precision. As the AfW’s KI-Governance Framework emphasizes, trustworthy AI requires transparency, human oversight, and data ethics. Within the European frameworks of the AI Act and FiDA, these principles are becoming not only a legal duty but best practice. Compliance is no longer a bureaucratic burden – it is the foundation of client trust.

Overcoming Barriers

Data remains the key. The Barometer shows the biggest obstacles: more than half of advisers fear errors or loss of control, 38 % cite data protection, and one-third still see AI as too complex. These concerns are real but temporary. Just as online banking evolved from skepticism to routine, AI will soon become a seamless part of advisory work. With service providers and networks, even small intermediaries can leverage shared, secure data environments – strengthening independence in a data-driven world.

The Human Multiplier

AI will not replace empathy or judgment – it will amplify them. Freed from routine, advisers can focus on listening, understanding, and connecting. The adviser of the future will act as a life coach and financial navigator, guiding clients through uncertainty with both technological insight and emotional intelligence.

Frank Dopheide captured it perfectly: AI will do the work. The human will make the difference.