AI Is the New Electricity and Advisors Can Help Clients Use It Safely

AI for Advisors newsletter

Just as doctors have spent the last two decades listening to patients say, “I Googled my symptoms,…” advisors are about to face their own version of the “Google Doctor” moment. Clients won’t come to meetings empty-handed, they’ll arrive quoting ChatGPT.

• “ChatGPT said I should wait until 72 to claim Social Security — is that true?”
• “I asked it about Roth conversions; here’s what it said. What do you think?”
• “It suggested a growth portfolio for my 401(k) — how safe is that?”

This is the new reality. AI can deliver immediate, knowledgeable, and convincing answers, even if they’re not always correct (see the Social Security question above). The challenge for advisors is not whether clients will use AI (they already are), but how to respond when AI becomes the first opinion in the room.

From light switches to wiring

Consider the late 1800s, when electricity first arrived in cities, initially powering factories and streetlights before entering the first homes. While the incandescent light bulb was a marvel, the true revolution wasn’t just flipping a switch.

The transformation grew as homes were slowly wired, sparking the invention of appliances like the electric fan, refrigerator, and washing machine that began to reshape daily life. More than just a new tool, electricity became the essential infrastructure of the modern world.

AI is following a similar pattern. OpenAI’s new usage study shows that by mid-2025, 700 million people were using ChatGPT weekly, generating 2.5 billion messages every day. That’s nearly on par with Google search traffic.

But here’s the catch: Usage alone doesn’t equal competence. Just like electricity, the important question isn’t who flips the switch, but who knows how to wire it into their lives and work.

Usage ≠ competence

The OpenAI study proves one thing: AI adoption is exploding. But nowhere in the 60 pages of charts and classifications is there a measure of effectiveness. Are people asking smart questions? Are they verifying answers? Are they applying judgment? Those are entirely different skills.

• Are people framing prompts with enough role, context, and format to get high-quality output?
• Are they managing AI’s limitations—bias, hallucinations, compliance—while still extracting value?
• Are they using AI to expand thinking and creativity, not just to speed up routine tasks?

Those are entirely different skills and advisors know this firsthand. In Horsesmouth’s most recent Advisor-AI usage survey, many admitted low confidence in their AI knowledge and skills, even as adoption ticked upward. In other words, advisors are flipping the switch, but not always sure how to wire AI safely into their practices.

That’s exactly why we’ve begun developing AI Principles at Horsesmouth. These are not abstract ideals, but practical guidelines to help advisors use AI responsibly, effectively, and in ways that strengthen client trust. They emphasize keeping the human in the loop, building competence, and using AI as a collaborator rather than an autopilot.

Applying the ‘AI for Advisors Principles’

When clients start quoting ChatGPT in meetings, advisors may sense that familiar mix of opportunity and risk. This is where guiding AI principles become a practical playbook for handling real conversations.

• Be the Human in the Loop: If a client says, “ChatGPT told me to delay Social Security until 72,” the advisor’s role is to correct it and calmly explain the answer for many people is usually 70 and that ChatGPT and other AI models, while very smart and powerful, still make inaccurate statements. AI can surface insights and questions, but it still takes human judgment to spot and correct obvious errors.
• Develop AI Competence: Just as advisors once nudged clients toward stronger cybersecurity practices, they can now teach AI literacy. That might mean showing a client how to double-check AI’s tax-law answers, or reminding them to ask, “What are the risks of this strategy?” Competence is built step by step, and advisors can lead the way.
• Use AI as a Collaborative Problem Solver: The most powerful use of AI isn’t one-click answers. It’s a process: Ask for options → Decide with judgment → Do the drafting. Advisors can model this with clients—treating AI as a thinking partner and just a souped-up search engine.

Together, these principles point to a clear truth: Advisors don’t compete with AI by being faster or louder. They win trust by being interpreters and guides, the ones who know how to wire AI into real decisions without leaving clients in the dark.

The education shift

The change isn’t just happening in advisors’ offices. Schools and universities are now treating AI literacy as a core skill. The Ohio State University has moved past framing AI as a plagiarism threat and is instead rethinking what “on-demand intelligence” means for higher education. Miami Dade Public Schools—one of the largest districts in the country—is embedding AI education into classrooms so students learn not just how to use the tools, but how to question them.

It’s a pivot worth noting. A decade ago, cybersecurity was still something for IT departments. Today, everyone is expected to know the basics—from spotting phishing emails to enabling multi-factor authentication. AI is on the same trajectory. Basic literacy will soon be expected in every household and workplace.

For your clients, though, there’s no obvious teacher. This is where advisors can step forward. By drawing on the AI for Advisors Principles—Be the Human in the Loop, Develop Competence, Use AI as a Collaborative Problem Solver—advisors can help clients navigate not only financial questions, but also the broader AI-driven world they’re living in.

What the OpenAI research reveals

The OpenAI study offers a rare window into how hundreds of millions of people actually use ChatGPT. Three findings stand out:

1. From work to life: In mid-2024, just over half of usage was work-related. By 2025, nearly three-quarters was personal. That means clients aren’t only asking AI about taxes or Social Security—they’re using it for errands, education, health, and family life.
2. The Big Three: Roughly 80% of all use falls into three categories:
   • Practical guidance (how-to advice, tutoring, creative ideas).
   • Seeking information (search-like questions).
   • Writing (drafting but especially editing and improving text).
3. How people interact: OpenAI classifies conversations into three “modes”:
   • Asking (≈49%) → seeking advice, options, explanations.
   • Doing (≈40%) → producing outputs like emails, plans, code.
   • Expressing (≈11%) → casual or playful chat.
     Crucially, satisfaction is highest when people begin with Asking before jumping to Doing.

Mapping the AI Usage Ladder

We’ve developed a framework at Horsesmouth called the AI Usage Ladder, which shows how advisors (and their clients) can move from basic, transactional uses of AI to higher-level strategic ones and then back again, throughout one session or throughout the day.

The OpenAI study demonstrates that AI is no longer a fringe tool. It’s daily infrastructure. Clients are already experimenting with it for schoolwork, health, and finances. Just as doctors had to adjust when patients started bringing in “Google diagnoses,” advisors must prepare for clients who walk in quoting ChatGPT.

Remember, your role isn’t to compete with AI’s speed. It’s to integrate AI thoughtfully into decisions, help clients climb toward better understanding, and ensure human judgment and discernment remain at the center.

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.