More consumers are turning to AI for financial information and guidance, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), evidenced by a noticeable drop in traffic to the regulator’s Moneysmart website.
Around 9.1 million Australians visited Moneysmart for information on superannuation, insurance and retirement planning in 2025-26, down from more than 11 million, according to ASIC’s 2026-27 Corporate Plan, released today.
The regulator observed that changes to how consumers accessed online information, including the use of AI platforms and AI summaries in search results, was affecting traditional search behaviours.
“Digital platforms and automated tools are increasingly a key source of information for consumer financial decisions… while these technologies have the potential to bring significant benefits, they also bring the increasing risk that consumers will be exposed to untrustworthy financial information outside traditional firm channels,” ASIC stated.
To drive improved consumer and small business outcomes, the regulator will accelerate the next phase of its financial adviser qualifications compliance program.
“We will support consumer engagement with qualified financial advisers, by progressing the next phase of our financial adviser qualifications compliance program. We will take a risk-based approach to identify advisers who remain authorised to provide personal advice but have not met the qualifications standard,” the ASIC corporate report stated.
The unhelpful aspects of AI advice
ASIC’s concerns and Moneysmart experience reflect new research from McCrindle, which found 41 per cent of Australians trust AI to give financial advice, with Gen Z leading the charge. More than half of Gen Z (57 per cent) trust AI to give financial advice.
According to Geoff Brailey, director of solutions at McCrindle, the growing number of people using large language models to seek financial advice had potential unintended consequences for financial advisers, given people seeking professional financial advice today often came with some perceived knowledge.
“It’s the financial planner’s role now to almost tease out and disentangle what’s unhelpful financial information that they might have received from an AI platform that may not know the latest regulations and policies, and may not know personalised information that you would build a financial plan on,” he says.
Overall, McCrindle’s Shaping a Human Centred AI future report found that Australians had an AI Trust Index score of 44, on a scale of 0 to 100.
It identified that a large number of Australians (55 per cent) were afraid to input too much personal information into AI platforms, which limited the value and relevance of the AI-generated advice and guidance.
Brailey encouraged advisers to capitalise on their strong reputation in their local communities, pointing out that small businesses had one of the highest trust ratings in Australia. Given the concerns that people have uploading personal data to these AI platforms, “financial planners should use that [scepticism] to their advantage,” he says.
“I think it is a disadvantage using an AI bot to speak to, rather than trusting a person with experience, credibility, authority, understanding of the tax implications, a real person who can actually provide trustworthy, helpful advice,” Brailey says. “I think that’s the human advantage in an AI world.”
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