Two separate bank surveys have found that an increasing number of consumers are turning to non-traditional sources, such as artificial intelligence, for advice on managing their finances.
A survey by Wells Fargo found that 40% of U.S. consumers have turned to “less traditional sources” for financial advice. Nearly one in five adults (19%) reported using AI, with that total doubling (38%) among Gen Z adults. Two‑thirds of respondents said they acted on suggestions generated by AI, and of that subset, nearly all (90%) said those ideas were profitable or worthwhile.
The Wells Fargo survey also found that Gen Z turned to other non-traditional sources for financial advice, with 44% relying on YouTube videos, 34% turning to Instagram or TikTok, and 25% seeking advice from online communities.
A separate survey by TD Bank found that most U.S. consumers are using AI tools, but they still prefer humans to make financial decisions. More than half of respondents (55%) reported using AI to aid their financial management decisions, with adoption rates highest among Gen Z (77%) and Millennials (72%) and growing steadily among Gen X (49%) and Boomers (30%).
Still, the TD Bank survey found that most people would rather have humans make the final call on financial decisions. Two-thirds of respondents were most comfortable when AI supports behind-the-scenes functions such as fraud detection (67%), tracking spending (66%) and calculating credit scores (66%), but trust “drops sharply” when asked whether to allow AI to make autonomous decisions for complex or high-stakes financial decisions.
