AI is reshaping advice delivery and firms that hesitate risk falling behind

Artificial intelligence is no longer a future ambition for wealth and asset managers; by 2026, it is central to how firms personalize advice, scale productivity, and compete for clients.

That’s the view of Kerry Ryan, CPWA, senior director of financial services marketing at Seismic, who has been speaking with InvestmentNews and says firms are embedding AI directly into advisor and wholesaler workflows.

“Wealth and asset management firms are rapidly advancing their AI strategies to bridge the advice gap and deliver hyper-personalized guidance at scale. Next-generation AI systems automatically convert unstructured meeting data into structured, actionable workflows,” she says, adding that these tools “dynamically surface client insights by synthesizing behavioral signals, portfolio data, and CRM intelligence.”

Ryan emphasizes that AI is not just accelerating advisor efficiency but fundamentally changing the client experience.

“AI agents and predictive analytics orchestrate real-time recommendations, content, and next-best actions across channels,” she says, enabling advisors to “design truly holistic, goals-based client experiences. The shift from reactive, product-centric engagements to anticipatory, data-driven guidance signals a fundamental transformation in how financial advice is delivered in the decade ahead.”

While enthusiasm for AI is high, Ryan cautions that personalization at scale is impossible without the right infrastructure in place.

“Delivering hyper-personalized client experiences is only possible with the right data foundation,” she says. “Firms must have real-time data integration that enables modern digital experiences and personalized recommendations, on top of predictive analytics and intelligent automation.”

Risk and compliance

With agentic AI solutions enabling financial services firms to automate processes, leading to concerns about what happens when systems are acting alone, Ryan says strong governance is essential and stresses that firms must adopt “consistent, enterprise-wide data governance to ensure compliant, responsible use of client data.”

Ryan notes that while AI solutions are likely to strengthen compliance processes, upcoming regulations will most likely require firms to formalize model governance, transparency, data controls, and suitability frameworks, in turn driving demand for more mature, auditable AI solutions.

“At the same time, stricter oversight of client communications and personalization will push firms toward compliant AI platforms that can document reasoning, mitigate bias, and ensure supervisory visibility,” she says. “As these standards take hold, firms will increasingly seek to partner with tech vendors that can operationalize AI safely across workflows while maintaining the compliance rigor regulators expect.”

Evolving advisor role

As AI absorbs administrative and analytical tasks, Ryan says the advisor role continues to evolve.

“Advisors transform from product selectors to orchestrators of holistic wealth journeys,” she says. “As AI removes the administrative burden, advisors have more time to focus on relationship-building and strategic guidance.”

In 2026, she says firms will explicitly compete on how well they blend human and machine capabilities.

“Advisors will lean further into the human and technological synergy that drives deeper value for clients, with this combination becoming a more explicit competitive differentiator,” she says. “I anticipate that wealth and asset managers will expand partnerships with AI, data, and experience-automation platforms to elevate personalization, advisor productivity, and data connectivity. This move toward open, interoperable tech ecosystems will help financial services firms and their partners deliver faster, more compliant, and more impactful client experiences.”

Advisor skill gaps

While some capabilities remain in-house, Ryan says partnerships dominate, but AI’s expansion exposes talent gaps, particularly among advisors and asset management sales professionals.

“AI fluency and data literacy will be key skills firms will cultivate internally and hire externally to fill gaps, focusing on how advisors and asset management sales pros can use these skills paired with strong leadership, communication, and problem-solving to guide clients through complex landscapes,” she says. “Firms will address these gaps in 2026 through AI-powered tools across the advisor tech stack, which equip advisors with upskilling, training and coaching content across the organization.”

Despite AI’s growing role, Ryan says that firms can maintain client trust by emphasizing transparency and strong data privacy.

“Firms can begin by explaining clearly how AI is used in their recommendations, as well as how client data is leveraged in conjunction with AI,” she says. “By adopting strong data privacy practices, firms can empower advisors and sales professionals to pair AI’s speed with human judgment and expertise to reinforce and sustain client trust around AI solutions.”

Growth engine

In conclusion, Ryan says that wealth and asset management firms must think of AI as a growth engine, not just another cost lever.

“Firms that adjust their mindset will gain a competitive advantage when it comes to superior personalization and client experiences, driven by AI-augmented advisor productivity, integrated ecosystems, and operational modernization to deliver consistent results,” she says. “Across both segments, firms that integrate AI deeply into data architecture, operating models, and client experiences will scale faster and widen performance and cost advantages over slower adopters.”