Today, much of the information we need is at our fingertips. Want to know about a new product or destination? Just ask Google Gemini and an answer appears in seconds. Need help drafting the perfect e-mail or polishing a CV? ChatGPT is ready. Look around, and artificial intelligence is increasingly woven into daily life. Even a simple interaction with your bank may begin with an AI-powered chatbot.
The shift is not just visible in consumer services. In August, AI platform Perplexity launched free access to financial data on Indian stock exchanges and listed companies. Earlier in the year, Paytm integrated Perplexity’s AI-powered search into its app. Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said the move would make financial services more seamless and accessible.
But the big question lingers: Can AI move beyond data support to become your personal wealth manager?
Traditionally, wealth management involves trained professionals or registered investment advisers (RIAs) who tailor plans to a client’s goals—where to invest, how much, for how long—and provide guidance through ups and downs. AI can process vast amounts of data and generate insights, but can it truly replace human advisers?
“AI can certainly support you with insights, simulations, and nudges around retirement planning and personal finance,” said Harsh Gahlaut, co-founder and CEO of FinEdge. But planning is not just about numbers. “It’s also about aligning money with life goals, managing emotions during volatile times, and building conviction to stay invested for the long term. That’s where the human element is irreplaceable,” he said.
For Kamal Kishore, former Tata Digital executive and now chief AI and technology officer at Centricity WealthTech, AI is already reshaping the industry. “AI is moving wealth management from being periodic and reactive to real-time and personalised. It’s no longer a back-office experiment but the core engine of strategy, decision-making and client engagement,” he said.
Centricity runs a technology-enabled platform that supports investment professionals in managing client portfolios. “Today’s AI models can analyse investor goals, risk profiles, and live market signals to create dynamic, individualised portfolios. AI forecasts market trends and client behaviour, enabling proactive portfolio shifts rather than reactive responses,” said Kishore.
Yet he draws a clear line. “The technology has matured to seamlessly complement existing advisory workflows, not replace them,” he said. “AI can act like an analyst but not yet an adviser.”
What AI excels at is heavy lifting: research, consolidating fragmented data, building a holistic view of a client’s finances, and rebalancing portfolios in real time. This frees human advisers to focus on complex strategies and relationship building.
“AI brings the breadth—speed, data and scale. Humans bring the depth—judgment, empathy and trust,” said Kishore.
That division may be why younger investors appear more open to AI support. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Retail Investor Outlook, 41 per cent of Gen Z and millennial respondents said they would allow an AI assistant to manage investments, compared with 29 per cent of Gen X and just 14 per cent of baby boomers. In India, trust in AI is particularly high: 62 per cent said they would share financial information with AI systems, ahead of China (53 per cent), Singapore (35 per cent), the US (29 per cent) and the UK (22 per cent).
More than half of investors in India, China and the UAE were open to delegating portfolio allocation and decision-making to AI-enabled assistants, the same report found. But risks remain.
A survey by Intuit Credit Karma found that 66 per cent of Americans who had used generative AI had also sought financial advice from it. Among Gen Z and millennials, the figure jumped to 82 per cent. Crucially, more than half of those who acted on AI-based advice said they made a poor financial decision or mistake.
“Financial planners and investment managers play a pivotal role in guiding clients through uncertainty, managing behavioural biases, and nurturing trust,” said Gahlaut. FinEdge uses a hybrid approach with its Dreams into Action platform, blending AI tools with human expertise. The AI provides predictive analytics and flags when an investor may be veering off course. Human advisers then step in with contextual and empathetic guidance to keep clients anchored to their goals.
Other firms are following similar paths. Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India) is exploring AI integration to reduce time spent on repetitive data tasks, freeing up teams for deeper analysis. “In areas such as thematic investing, AI has the potential to support the identification of emerging themes, link company revenues to those themes, and improve the overall efficiency of monitoring,” said Nishant Pradhan, chief AI officer at Mirae.
Yet Pradhan is clear that AI is not a replacement. “AI can act as a supportive adviser by analysing personal finance data, suggesting asset allocation, and continuously monitoring investments. However, financial planning is not just about calculations; it is also about understanding human emotions, life goals and unique circumstances. That is where human advisers still play a critical role.”
The experts also stress caution. While AI brings speed and scalability, it cannot fully anticipate unpredictable market movements. “Markets can be unpredictable, and AI models are only as good as the data they are trained on,” warned Pradhan.
Also, with sensitive financial data at stake, firms must embed safeguards. Kishore of Centricity emphasised the importance of a “responsible AI framework” that ensures privacy, explainability and human oversight. “Every AI output must be auditable and trusted,” he said.
AI may also miss cultural, emotional or personal factors that shape investment decisions—elements that no algorithm can yet capture fully.
The wealth management sector is clearly moving towards deeper AI adoption. For investors, this could mean faster insights, real-time adjustments, and more personalised strategies. For advisers, it means more efficient workflows and sharper tools.
But the consensus is firm: the best outcomes lie in partnership. AI may provide the breadth—processing endless streams of data—but humans bring the depth: empathy, conviction and the ability to steer clients through volatility.
AI can support the journey, but financial planning is about people. Trust, guidance and emotional anchoring will always require a human adviser.