Nearly half of global consumers have turned to AI for help with savings and investment decisions, new research shows. The EY survey of 18,000 people across 23 countries found 49 per cent used AI over the past six months to support financial choices. Gen Z leads adoption at 68 per cent, followed closely by millennials at 65 per cent.

Trust remains the critical barrier. Preetham Peddanagari, EY's global financial services AI co-leader, warned that firms must earn that trust by putting strong guardrails around AI-driven decisions and demonstrating transparency. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority launched a review in January to assess how AI could affect retail investors. In the UK, 35 per cent of consumers have used AI for savings decisions.

ChatGPT is the most popular tool, according to a separate Lloyds study. Andrew Oxlade at Fidelity International cautioned that investors often fail to ask the right questions, meaning they don't get complete answers. While adoption is stronger in Asia-Pacific at 30 per cent versus 21 per cent in Europe, traditional financial advice still dominates—45 per cent of UK investors use financial institutions and 40 per cent rely on professional advisers.