With AI being attached to seemingly every company and product today, how can wealth managers separate genuine innovation from marketing hype when evaluating AI opportunities for clients?
Brandon Stockman, wealth advisor for Johnson Wealth Management, which is affiliated with Prospera Financial Services, separates the AI headlines from the reality by reminding clients that they are likely already invested in AI, given the large technology exposure existing in the funds they already own. In his view, many of his clients do not need separate, specific investments in the AI trade because they already participate in it broadly within their core equity, total stock market, and S&P 500-based funds.
“This diversification keeps them from having to guess which AI company might succeed over the long term and which ones may simply be caught up in hype,” Stockman said.
Meanwhile, Austin Graff, chief investment officer at 49 Financial, agrees that many companies are making “vague statements” on AI. That’s why when he tries to identify which companies will benefit from AI, he looks for details around projects and expectations for financial improvement.
“At a minimum, we expect companies to be able to communicate specific AI projects, including expected financial returns from making such investments,” Graff said.
Samuel Diarbakerly, founder and private wealth advisor at Generation Capital Advisors, believes his role is not just to pick the “next big AI stock,” but to evaluate whether a company’s use of AI improves its fundamentals in a way that supports sustainable wealth creation. He said he uses AI-driven research to “filter noise, but always tie investment decisions back to each client’s goals, risk tolerance, and tax strategy.”
Stresses Diarbakerly: “The test is simple: does AI adoption translate into measurable outcomes that help our clients reach their financial objectives? While AI can amplify productively, we focus on how humans implement and drive output.”
Like “greenwashing,” where companies exaggerate or overstate the environmental benefits of their product, “AI washing” has become a staple of those corporate marketing departments seeking to capitalize on terms that may excite investors. It occurs when companies use buzzwords and hype around AI, like “powered by AI,” to sell a product that may or may not in fact use much AI at all.
Graff believes there is indeed a lot of AI washing in the market today. He personally defines the practice as companies referring to AI investments without clearly communicating how or when benefits from AI investments can flow through financials. In some cases, hyper-scalers are even guilty of this as they are making investments without a clear path to incremental financial benefit, according to Graff.
“We would prefer to invest in the companies that are able to point to clear benefits from AI investment today and leave the rest to speculators,” Graff said.
Along similar lines, Diarbakerly sees AI washing as the rebranding of ordinary technology or business functions with the “AI” label, without evidence of real impact.
“For our clients, that kind of marketing hype is a distraction from what matters most: staying disciplined and aligned with their long-term plan. At GCA, we help clients avoid the trap of speculation by focusing on durable, tax-efficient strategies where AI may be a tailwind — but never the whole story. Our priority is ensuring that wealth compounds steadily, not chasing fads,” Diarbakerly said.
Finally, regarding the recent MIT report suggesting that employee-led AI adoption often delivers more real-world impact, Diarbakerly believes that innovation is most powerful when it filters down to daily workflows and decision-making, not just when executives talk about it.
“When employees adopt AI in ways that enhance productivity or client service, it signals a culture of sustainable innovation. For financial planning, this matters because it helps us identify industries and companies where AI is embedded in real value creation, not just in press releases,” Diarbakerly said.
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