Brits increasingly turning to ChatGPT for investment advice
Far more UK savers are now turning to tools such as ChatGPT to help make investment decisions, new research shows.
A survey of 1,000 adults by STRAT7 found that 55 per cent have used AI-powered platforms for financial guidance over the past year. On average, each user has invested around £2,350.
Morning Wire reported in October that growing numbers of retail investors were experimenting with generative AI to plug the UK’s widening financial advice gap.
The latest data suggests that trend has accelerated, particularly among younger savers, even as trust in AI remains limited.
But traditional sources continue to dominate financial decision-making. Banks’ websites were used by 81 per cent of respondents, while 76 per cent sought advice from family members and 75 per cent turned to experts.
The shift comes as regulators prepare to give banks a larger role in advice.
New rules announced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will allow high street lenders to offer free guidance on pensions and investments from April 2026, a move designed to help close the advice gap without pushing consumers towards unregulated sources.
Younger savers use AI and ChatGPT the most
Use of AI tools was highest among Gen Z and millennials, with around four in five in each group consulting platforms such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Perplexity for financial questions.
Meanwhile, 14 per cent of Gen Z respondents said they now rely on AI for all of their financial guidance.
Older generations, however, tended to deploy larger sums.
Gen X and baby boomers invested just over £3,100 on average using AI-based guidance, despite being less frequent users overall.
In practice, AI remains more of a research assistant than a replacement adviser.
Only 10 per cent of respondents said they turn to AI first when seeking financial guidance, while more than a third use it mainly for budgeting rather than active investing.
Sue van Meeteren, co-founder of STRAT7 Jigsaw, said: “People are clearly drawn to AI for low-cost, accessible guidance”.
“But when decisions feel consequential, they still want reassurance from trusted institutions, lived experience and clear, objective explanations.”
That trust gap is reflected in satisfaction levels, with over three-quarters of respondents saying they were satisfied with guidance from banks’ websites, compared with 67 per cent for AI-generated investment advice.