Seven in 10 (74%) of Brits said they preferred getting financial advice from a person rather than artificial intelligence (AI), research from Unbiased found.
The survey of UK adults seeking financial advice showed 40% would only use a human adviser, while another 34% were happy for a human adviser to use AI tools.
Only 6% said they would use an AI-only service.
Trust and being able to talk to someone were the main reasons people chose a person.
Respondents said they liked “speaking to a person” or being able to “meet face to face” for important decisions.
A quarter (25%) said they doubted AI because there was no human oversight.
23% mentioned worries about poor or wrong advice, and 19% were concerned about data privacy and security.
Some called AI “untested”, “untrustworthy”, and at risk of fraud.
However, some did see positives with AI as 24% liked lower costs, 21% said faster support, and 18% said 24/7 help was useful.
People were more open to AI for matching to advisers (23%), answering simple financial questions (21%), or making reports (18%).
Tim Grimsditch, managing director at Unbiased, said: “This research shows what many in the industry already sense: people want the human touch in financial advice.
“Trust and personal connection remain paramount, especially for life-changing financial decisions.
“At the same time, there’s clearly an acknowledgement of AI’s ability to play a supporting role — helping with efficiency, cost, and accessibility.”
Grimsditch added: “The future isn’t AI instead of advisers, but advisers enabled by AI.
“That’s where Unbiased is focused: harnessing AI responsibly and transparently, while keeping qualified professionals firmly at the heart of advice.”
