Large RIAs name ChatGPT, Copilot and Claude in job posts far more than advisor AI tools

The largest independent RIAs are increasingly naming artificial intelligence tools in their job postings, but mostly the same general-purpose tools used across corporate America rather than advisor-specific fintechs, according to new research from Caddi shared exclusively with InvestmentNews.

In the third quarter of 2026, 19.4% of independent RIAs that posted jobs had at least one post naming an AI tool, or 39 of 201 firms, up from 1.1% two years earlier. Since late 2023, 76 of the 455 firms studied have posted at least one job mentioning AI. Caddi is a Seattle-based startup that sells AI agents to automate back-office work for RIAs, such as account opening and custodian paperwork. 

General-purpose AI tools lead 

According to Caddi's research, over the 12 months to September 2026:

• Microsoft Copilot was named in job posts at 29 firms, up from seven a year earlier.
• OpenAI’s ChatGPT was named at 27 firms, up from seven.
• Anthropic’s Claude was named at 26 firms, up from three.
• The largest group, 35 firms, mentioned AI skills without naming a product, up from nine.

Wealth-specific AI barely registers in job postings. Since late 2023, advisor notetaker Zocks has been named in job posts at seven firms, the only advisor-specific AI tool among the most frequently named products, according to Caddi. That puts it level with Google’s Gemini (seven firms) and behind posts seeking experience with OpenAI’s GPT models directly (eight). Over the same period, Copilot was named at 34 firms, ChatGPT at 32 and Claude at 27, while 41 firms mentioned AI without naming a specific product.

In a separate Caddi survey of 17 operations leaders at RIAs with more than $1 billion in assets, 53% said their firm pays for an advisor notetaker such as Jump, Zocks or Zeplyn.

The lines between the categories are also blurring. Anthropic launched Claude for Financial Advisors in September with connectors to Schwab, Orion, Wealth.com, Zocks, and many other companies across wealth management. 

Caddi’s 2026 State of AI at Enterprise RIAs covers the 455 largest independent wealth management RIAs ranked by SEC Form ADV assets. The company says it draws on two public sources: each firm’s job postings since late 2023 and the LinkedIn profiles of its current employees. Caddi counted whether a firm’s job postings mentioned an AI tool by name or asked for AI skills. 

Size divides adopters

AI mentions in jobs fall off sharply at RIAs below $25 billion in assets. Eight of the 10 largest independents and 63.6% of firms with $25 billion to $100 billion have posted at least one job naming an AI tool. The share drops to 26.5% for firms with $10 billion to $25 billion, about one in 10 for firms between $2.5 billion and $10 billion, and zero for firms under $2.5 billion.

Some of the largest RIAs have also started building their own AI. About 21% of firms with $25 billion to $100 billion posted jobs mentioning tools or skills for building directly on large language models, falling to 7.4% at $10 billion to $25 billion, and close to zero below that.

“The largest RIAs have stopped asking whether to use AI. The question for 2027 is whether anyone can show it changed the cost of running the firm, and right now very few can,” said Alejandro Castellano, co-founder and CEO of Caddi.

Caddi's findings follow recent Schwab survey data showing that only 7% of advisors use agentic AI, defined as systems that make decisions and take actions independently within workflows. In the same study, 26% of advisors said they want job candidates who are comfortable with AI tools.

According to Schwab’s 2026 RIA Benchmarking Study, nearly half of surveyed RIAs have used AI to write job descriptions and more than a third use AI to develop interview questions.