NEW YORK (July 22, 2025) – ISS Market Intelligence (ISS MI), a leading provider of data, analytics, and insights to the global financial services industry, announced the latest release of its ISS MI Advisor Pulse Report – Artificial Intelligence.
Based on nearly 500 interviews conducted in June 2025, the study offers a timely and in-depth look at how artificial intelligence (A.I.) is refining daily processes within the advisory profession.
The report reveals that nearly half (48 percent) of U.S. financial advisors are already using A.I. in their workflows, and a striking 87 percent expect to adopt A.I. tools within the next 12 months.
These results highlight a growing interest in leveraging A.I. as a tool to streamline administrative tasks. Considering the volume of information that advisors typically sort through, summarizing information was the most frequent use case for A.I. from advisors, cited by 58 percent of advisors that employ such tools. That was followed by 56 percent who used it for generating written content such as client emails and 55 percent who used it for general research and brainstorming.
Using A.I. for investment recommendations or portfolio construction was the lowest rated task in terms of frequency and satisfaction among advisors using these tools.
“A.I. is attracting advisor interest by offering to help save them time and allow them to focus more on client relationships,” said Alan Hess, lead researcher on the ISS MI Advisor Pulse Series. “The path forward is not without friction. Worries about accuracy, data privacy, and integration challenges with other tools are sizable hurdles to increased adoption.”
Concerns about the accuracy of A.I.’s output were serious for both advisors that do use these tools and those that do not. Among advisors already incorporating A.I. into their workflows, 63 percent identified accuracy as one of the top three barriers to broader adoption. Similarly, 62 percent of non-users cited accuracy as a key obstacle to getting started.
Optimistic advisors believed A.I. would help their job and eagerly awaited significant time savings, stating, for example, that it “will allow me to spend time in areas that generate more revenue.” Other advisors feared it would affect their work negatively, stating it may “give the general public a false sense of security and safety around their financial plans” and that they’ve seen “too many mistakes.”
While advisors that used A.I. were less likely to cite resistance from their firm as a leading challenge than other reasons, those that did were overwhelmingly likely to say that resistance came from their compliance departments. Firms with less established compliance infrastructure demonstrated greater A.I. adoption. RIAs were more likely to answer they used artificial intelligence in their workflow and they were the least likely to say their firms had a written policy on the use of A.I. tools: 78 percent of RIAs said their firms did not have a written policy. Overall, only 45 percent of advisors surveyed said their firm had a written policy on the use of A.I. tools.
“This research shows that advisors are eager to explore A.I.’s potential, but many are doing so without a clear roadmap from their firms,” Hess added. “The gap between advisor enthusiasm and institutional preparedness is widening, and that creates both risk and opportunity. These trends suggest that firms that step up with thoughtful policies, training, and support will be better positioned to harness A.I.’s benefits while maintaining trust and oversight.”
From widespread adoption for administrative efficiency to deep concerns around accuracy and compliance, the findings reveal a profession at a pivotal moment. As nearly 9 in 10 advisors anticipate using A.I. within the next year, the report highlights both the momentum behind A.I. integration and the friction slowing it down.
To learn more about ISS MI’s Advisor Pulse Series, visit https://page.issmarketintelligence.com/advisor-pulse-series
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