A new national survey shows that artificial intelligence has quietly become standard equipment in financial planning practices — with 82% of advisors already using AI tools and 69% saying it has had a positive impact on the industry. The findings matter for anyone tracking how AI financial advisors are reshaping the profession.
What the Numbers Say
Edward Jones and Morning Consult surveyed 201 financial advisors in late May 2026, releasing results on July 8. The headline figure is striking: 82% use AI in their practice today. Top applications include automating administrative tasks (59%) and drafting routine communications (53%). Yet 68% of advisors still believe “building and maintaining long-term client trust requires a human touch” — and 97% say their client conversations have changed significantly in recent years.
According to the PR Newswire release from Edward Jones, 53% of advisors view AI as an opportunity to focus on higher-value work, while 38% note that clients are now comparing advisor recommendations against online or AI-generated alternatives.
What This Means for the Industry
The survey’s title — “More Human, Not Less” — captures the prevailing sentiment. AI is absorbing the paperwork load: note-taking, compliance drafts, routine follow-ups. That frees advisors to spend more time on wealth transfer planning, life transitions, and the kind of contextual judgment that algorithms still can’t replicate. Eighty percent of respondents also reported an increased sense of purpose over the past five years — a signal that the profession is adapting rather than retreating.
What’s Next
The shift is already visible in product launches: major platforms including Salesforce, RightCapital, and others have shipped AI meeting assistants and planning analyzers in 2026. As these tools mature, the competitive divide will likely fall not between human advisors and AI, but between advisors who use AI well and those who don’t. For clients, the practical takeaway is that the advisor across the table is increasingly backed by machine-speed analysis — while the relationship itself remains distinctly human.