AI for Advisors newsletter
Back in the 1990s, in the early days of the Internet and the World Wide Web, I was helping executives understand this new thing called email. One CEO proudly explained his system to me: “Oh, I don’t deal with email directly,” he said. “My secretary handles that for me.”
Here’s how it worked: She would log into his account each morning, print out his emails, and stack them neatly on his desk. He’d read through them, dictate his responses, and she’d type them up and hit send. The whole thing took hours—sometimes a full day for a message that should have taken two minutes.
Technically, he had email. But in reality, he’d completely missed the transformation happening right under his nose. It wasn’t about the emails themselves—it was about the speed of communication, the directness of connection, and a new way of leading. By delegating it, he insulated himself from the very skill that was reshaping leadership.
That’s exactly what I see happening now with AI.
The delegation trap
Today, many advisors are making the same mistake—different decade, same mindset. They’ll say, “We’ve got one ChatGPT account. The team uses it when needed.”
But here’s the problem: If everyone shares one model, the AI never adapts to anyone’s style. It’s like having one tailored suit that everyone takes turns wearing—it might fit one person perfectly, but for everyone else, it’s just awkward and ill-fitting.
More importantly, when leaders delegate AI learning downward—treating it as an “admin thing”—they lose the direct experience that changes how they think, ask questions, and make decisions. Just like those executives who thought the Internet was “for the staff,” advisors who treat AI as a back-office utility are missing a massive leadership opportunity.
The strategic shift
AI fluency is a strategic skill, not a technical one. Using AI well isn’t about knowing which buttons to push—it’s about knowing what to ask, what to trust, and how to interpret what you get. That’s leadership in the AI era.
The AI-powered advisor today is the one who has learned to have intelligent conversations with AI, where the AI becomes a sparring partner and co-intelligence for their thinking. It’s not replacing them; it’s amplifying their insight, speed, and creativity. The real skill of the future isn’t typing prompts—it’s directing on-demand intelligence.
What the data show
In our most recent Horsesmouth survey, daily AI use among financial advisors has more than doubled in the past year to 24%. The number of advisors not using AI at all fell from 38% to 22%. The shift has started.
But here’s what’s fascinating: The biggest growth isn’t in whether advisors use AI—it’s in how they use it. Advisors are moving from content creation to strategic planning, client engagement, and operational efficiency. It’s no longer just about writing faster. It’s about learning to think with AI. Here’s some survey insights:
Strategic decision support: Power users are engaging AI to analyze competing market views, run what-if scenarios, and stress-test strategies before taking them to clients. One advisor told us: “I’m no longer starting from a blank page. AI gives me momentum—not just on writing, but on meetings and strategy.” This is a shift from “AI as an assistant” to “AI as a co-thinker.” They’re building faster insights, better-prepared recommendations, and more confident decisions.
Communication mastery: Nearly 43% of advisors now use AI to draft or refine client communications—emails, updates, even meeting notes. About a quarter use it to simplify complex financial topics, turning technical insights into human language. That’s not clerical work. It’s a form of leadership communication. When advisors make complex ideas clear and relatable, they elevate trust and create growth opportunities.
Vision and innovation: Forward-looking advisors are using AI for business innovation—brainstorming new niches, refining their marketing and investing strategy, and shaping operational systems for compliance or documentation. They’re discovering new ways to serve physicians, entrepreneurs, and multi-generational families. They’re not delegating the exploration of this new technology, they’re leading it.
The confidence gap
And yet, only 11% of advisors describe themselves as “very confident” using AI. That confidence gap separates the power users from the dabblers. The leap from dabbling to mastery doesn’t require coding. It requires curiosity and judgment. When leaders personally engage with AI, they don’t just get efficiency, they get insight, fluency, and a future-ready mindset.
Try this now
If you want to feel what’s possible—not just read about it—pick one real client you’ve worked with recently. Then open your AI tool of choice and try one of these prompts:
The Strategic Prep Drill (Shows how AI accelerates preparation)
“You’re my client-meeting-prep expert. I have a meeting tomorrow with a client who is a 58-year-old business owner preparing to exit in three years. They have a blended family, a $3 million business, and concerns about capital gains, succession, and protecting the surviving spouse. Give me a pre-meeting brief: Key planning priorities, questions I should ask, watchouts and opportunities, and one scenario I might present.”
The Clarity Challenge (Shows how AI improves explanations)
“Help me explain this clearly to a client: Why capital gains tax planning matters before selling a business, and how charitable trusts or installment sales might reduce the tax burden. Use plain language, relatable examples, and a tone that’s confident and easygoing.”
The Relationship Builder (Shows how AI helps personalize follow-up)
“Based on what you know about physicians nearing retirement in [enter your state], write a short, thoughtful follow-up note I could send to a prospect I met last week. Include one insight I could share about their planning situation, a relevant question to invite further conversation, and a tone that’s friendly, professional, and helpful.”
Just trying one of these will show you how much more prepared and persuasive you can be in minutes, not hours. As you’ll see, AI isn’t about shortcuts. It’s about sharper inputs, faster insight, and better conversations.
Your human advantage
Some people still worry that AI makes humans less relevant. I think it’s the opposite. When you learn AI firsthand, you deepen your human advantage because you start seeing what only you can bring to the interaction.
What AI gives you is mental clarity and bandwidth to focus on judgment, relationships, and vision. That’s why AI won’t replace advisors—but advisors who use AI will absolutely outperform those who don’t.
The choice is yours: Will you be the leader who learns AI, or the one who delegates it? Because unlike that CEO in the 90s, you still have time to get ahead of this wave.
Ready to make the leap? Horsesmouth’s AI for Advisors Pro training programs provide the structured, advisor-specific approach that transforms occasional users into confident practitioners. Learn more at www.horsesmouth.com/aipro.