A new report by BMO Financial Group reveals that 37% of Americans are using artificial intelligence (AI) to manage their finances and investments, with 61% of that share being members of Generation Z. Sixty-four percent of survey respondents said they did not think AI can understand the emotional component of financial planning.
For Americans leveraging AI to help manage their finances, the most common uses include educating themselves about personal finance (49%), creating and/or updating household budgets (48%), discovering new investment strategies (47%), building savings (47%), and creating and/or updating their financial plans (46%).
“AI offers great potential in the way we handle our finances, providing real-time insights and analysis. However, managing money is more than analytics; it is a deeply personal relationship shaped by emotions, experiences, and unique life circumstances,” said Paul Dilda, Head of U.S. Consumer Strategy for BMO. “While AI handles technical aspects and routine tasks, a professional advisor brings a human touch, offering personalized guidance and understanding. Together, they create a holistic approach to financial management, ensuring more Americans stay on track towards their goals and make real financial progress.”
Americans are using AI in every aspect of their lives, including:
- Research: Over half (59%) use AI when researching a topic, and 40% use it for data analysis.
- Productivity Planning: Nearly 40% of those surveyed use AI to build their business, travel, exercise, and/or to manage their schedules.
- Content Creation: Many Americans use AI in their creative lives, including writing (43%) and photo and/or video editing (42%).
- Making Informed Decisions: More than half of those polled (53%) believe that AI can help them make better financial decisions, while 52% think it makes financial planning more accessible.
- Optimistic Outlook: Almost one-third of those that do not use AI are looking at the technology to learn more about personal finance (32%). Other non-users are thinking about using it to increase savings (31%), find new investment strategies (29%), create and/update household budgets (29%) and financial plans (27%), and/or for retirement planning (27%).
Measuring the AI Generation Gap
Generation Z leads the way in using AI to plan for upcoming financial milestones, with 82% most likely to use AI for research, 75% for writing, 67% for building business, travel, and/or exercise, and 61% to manage their finances and investments.
In the last six months, Gen Z needed to make large purchases (e.g., cars and homes) (22%), attend college or university (18%), find a new job (15%), and/or start a business (13%). But 85% of Gen Z say their leading source of financial anxiety is about their overall financial situation. That’s followed by fear of unknown expenses (80%), housing costs (79%), and monthly bills (76%).
Gen Z is optimistic about artificial intelligence: 58% think AI can help people make more informed financial decisions, and 55% are confident that AI tools can help them make real financial progress.
The BMO Real Financial Progress Index is an indicator of how consumers feel about their personal finances and whether they are making financial progress. The research for this report was conducted by Ipsos in the United States from May 31 to June 21, 2024.
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