I am ready to retire, can I trust AI for financial advice?

AI needs to be used with caution a lot of the time because we know it can get things wrong. It is though getting better at a fast pace. Who knows, maybe one day there will be less errors AI make compared with humans.

At the time of writing in September 2026 – I have seen especially in the last 12 months the accuracy increase. As a younger financial planner in the industry, however still holding over 10 years of industry experience, I am still comfortable and open to adopting new technologies. However, after countless meetings and helping numerous clients with their retirement. The technical side of my job is only one part of the overall advice process (which AI can sometimes be good at).

Helping everyday Australian’s feel comfortable about retirement involves much more, my meetings are generally held face to face in person where I can see people’s emotional response to our conversations (and they can see mine). Then also how they feel about things like working longer, retiring later vs retiring sooner and even conversations around spending or saving. AI can’t pick these emotional responses up and can therefore lack the ability to provide a complete answer that people can rely on and trust. It might be able to give you an OK answer (that we know can sometimes be wrong which is why professional advice is still needed) but then when things change and life gets in the way, that’s when having a real personal can help navigate things for you.

People always like to use analogies as we try to understand the ever changing field of AI. I know for example home gym’s and online training plans have been around for as long as I can remember. However, I have tried this many years ago setting up a home gym, and at the end of the day going to an actual gym and getting real human advice can be a lot more engaging and beneficial in the long term. Even though the advice might have been able to be replicated somewhat even without a human. Having a human who can see and understand you can really help guide and put you on the right path.