When asked about artificial intelligence tools potentially replacing their role in serving clients, many financial advisors say the risk is real but ultimately manageable. They attribute that to the indispensable nature of the “human connection” that clients typically seek in the planning process.
Jamie Hopkins, the financial planning expert and Bryn Mawr Capital Management CEO, believes that perspective is wrong and explained why in a recent video posted on LinkedIn.
As Hopkins observed, industry articles often cite advisors who say they can’t be replaced by AI because AI can’t create the "human connection" that people want. He disagrees.
“It's not about human connection," Hopkins said. "I do not believe this. ... Think about all the other areas of our lives ... where human connection was supposed to be the driver of value and services.”
Take, for example, the near-complete shift from consumer banking services primarily being conducted in a branch office in favor of ATMs and phone-based applications. Likewise, the rise of self-checkout kiosks in retail settings shows that many people prefer the convenience that technology brings to the table.
“As things automated ... [and] as technology improved, people didn't care about the human connection," Hopkins said. “They’re perfectly fine with automation. They're perfectly fine moving away from the human connection. ... What AI can't replace is not the human connection part. Actually, AI will probably get very good at replacing human connection with video and audio, reading people's emotions and reacting.”
So, Hopkins warned, advisors who assume that AI won't ever become "emotionally intelligent" enough to match their human connection could find themselves left behind.
Complexity Problem
Hopkins isn’t alone in that sentiment, he noted, pointing to a recent report from Microsoft that listed financial advisors among the top 40 jobs that are likeliest to be replaced by increasingly capable and engaging AI models. The good news for advisors, he said, is that there is still one thing that AI has a hard time replacing.
“What AI has been unable to replicate or come close to yet is trust,” Hopkins said. “That's actually a different thing than connection. Trust is, are you going to deliver what I expect you to deliver and are you going to fulfill the promises that you are making.”
Today's large AI models are impressive, Hopkins said, but they are nowhere near the stage where they can be trusted to enact and validate advice in retirement planning or other personal wealth goals. Whether such trust could ever be established is an open question, he added, and there is also the regulatory front to consider. AI still can’t legally recommend securities or provide individualized fiduciary advice without triggering licensing requirements.
To underscore AI's shortcomings, Hopkins pointed to a study from June 2025 in which Apple tested some of the prominent large models out there on their ability to "think" logically in the context of solving multi-step problems in various contexts, including financial modeling.
"They all failed completely on three-step complex tasks,” Hopkins observed. “There is no AI model today that can handle that. They all failed. AI models ... provide an illusion of thinking, but they’re not ‘thinking’ yet. They can't complete complex tasks — and most of advice is complex tasks. It's understanding that something is not in a silo. There's seven other factors and 19 other steps that need to be done in order to provide true advice. That's why AI can't replicate what an advisor does today.
“That is the fundamental reason [why AI won’t replace advisors],” Hopkins continued. “It’s not because of human connection. People will be fine with automating tasks, getting efficiency — if they can trust it. But they can't trust it today because it can't deliver on that promise of being an advisor."
Industry Perspective
Dozens of industry experts agreed with Hopkins’ warning, while some pushed back against his interpretation of the current and future role of AI in financial planning.
“AI should make wealth advisors more effective and less apt to make mistakes,” wrote Brett Shofner, president of Work Plan Retire. “Modeling will be better and the math will be more accurate, but I don't see AI replacing key conversations with clients like, ‘I don't want to leave money to my sister because of [X, Y or Z],’ or any other number of emotional or personal elements to wealth and estate planning.”
Some commenters argued that AI will more readily displace “bad advisors,” but those who engage in holistic and personalized planning are secure in their long-term value proposition, even in a world where AI models continue to improve their logical “thinking” skills. Others largely agreed with Hopkins but suggested that the difference between “trust” and “human connection” isn’t so clear cut.
“AI won’t replace financial advisors,” wrote Kristin Moore, president of the Women in Financial Services chapter in Phoenix. “Financial decisions are deeply emotional and personal, requiring the empathy and judgment that only humans can provide. Instead, AI serves to enhance advisor capabilities — automating routine tasks, analyzing client data, and streamlining processes so advisors can focus on building relationships and providing personalized guidance.”
AI can handle the logistics, Moore said, while advisors deliver the trust, emotional intelligence and strategic thinking that clients truly value.
Pictured: Jamie Hopkins
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