AI can answer almost any financial question in seconds. What it can't do is take responsibility for the accuracy of the answer. When it comes down to your finances, trust is the core of every step you take. That's exactly why our clients still choose a financial adviser.
We're getting this question a lot right now. If ChatGPT or Claude can explain super, tax and investing for free, why pay for advice? It's a fair question; here’s the honest answer.
Used well, AI is very useful. It's a fast way to understand how an account-based pension works, or what to consider before making extra super contributions.
More than half of Australians now ask an AI tool how to save money, and a growing share of people approaching retirement are asking one about retirement income. That's not a bad thing because it means more people are engaging with their finances.
The trouble starts when a helpful starting point gets mistaken for a finished plan.
Financial advice isn't just about facts. It's about someone getting to know your full situation, family and goals well enough to tell you what applies to you.
AI doesn't know what it doesn't know about you. It won't necessarily ask whether that extra super contribution is coming from selling a business or whether your risk tolerance has changed since we last spoke. That's the part of advice that can't be automated: the relationship and the trust that builds inside it.
Think of AI as a well-read passenger. It can read the map and flag a hazard ahead, but you're still the one steering.
You can't safely drive something you know nothing about. And you can't check AI's answers for mistakes if you don't already understand the subject. AI tools make things up with total confidence, and when doing that with your finances, that's an expensive habit.
Under Australian law, giving advice that takes your personal circumstances into account requires a licence. A general-purpose AI tool isn't licensed, and nobody is accountable if it gets your situation wrong.
A financial adviser in Australia must ask about your tax position, super balance, family structure and risk tolerance before recommending anything. That requirement exists because those details change the right answer.
Talk to our team about your financial situation before you decide anything on your own.