Iress Signal Advisory

AI is changing advice

AI is giving advisers time back.
The next opportunity is growth

AI adoption is moving beyond experimentation. Practices embedding AI across their workflows are more likely to report broader benefits.

But deep integration remains rare, and the full economic impact is still to be unlocked.

The prize

Up to

more likely to report broader business benefits

Advisers with AI embedded across their workflows — versus those still piloting or partially deploying it — see more clients, serve clients better and retire more existing software or services.

The reality

have embedded AI across most of their advice process

Adoption is already widespread. 72% are piloting AI or using it in production, but embedding it end-to-end is still rare.

The progress

are saving significant time with AI

AI-engaged advisers save a quarter of their time on the tasks where they use it: meaningful productivity gains.

The catch

report a material benefit in lower cost to serve

The gains aren't yet flowing through to the wider economics. And 63% have added AI without replacing any existing technology.

The next opportunity isn't more AI. It's embedding AI across your advice workflow, so the time you're already saving becomes real capacity, better client outcomes and a lighter tech stack.

See where the value gets stuck
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7 key findings

Where AI is helping advice practices today — and where value is getting stuck

Seven findings from 839 advice professionals across Australia and New Zealand, mapping where AI is already delivering, and where the value stalls before it reaches the business.

Value gets stuck
1.

Adoption is broad. Embedded use is rare.

AI has landed across advice practices. But for most, it remains at the edges of the workflow. The gap between using AI and embedding AI is where the opportunity sits.

The adviser takeaway:
Using AI for individual tasks is a start. The bigger opportunity is connecting it to the way work actually moves through your practice - from the client meeting to advice presented.

piloting or beyond
embedded
Where AI is helping
2.

Working at the front door. The queue is downstream.

AI is delivering at the front door: meeting notes and file notes. Downstream, where advice is actually produced, the value hasn't arrived yet.

The adviser takeaway:
The greatest productivity gains sit after the client meeting - where information is checked, transferred, interpreted and turned into advice. That is where to look next, not at the tasks that are simply easiest to automate.

Notes
SOA
Data entry
Value gets stuck
3.

The heaviest work is where AI is least deployed.

The heaviest, slowest work - advice-document production - is exactly where AI is least deployed today.

The adviser takeaway:
Start with the workflow that consumes the most effort. Map advice-document production end-to-end and target where information is re-entered, files wait for approval, or work returns for rework.

rate SOA production burdensome
4+ weeks to present advice
Value gets stuck
4.

Improving records before it changes the economics.

AI is improving the quality and speed of records. But the value stalls before it reaches the economics. The cost to serve has barely moved and only 5% have retired any software as a result of AI.

The adviser takeaway:
While AI is already creating meaningful productivity gains, these are largely being absorbed into existing processes rather than reducing costs and changing the broader technology stack.

benefit on file notes
lower cost to serve
retired software
Value gets stuck
5.

Most cannot yet prove what AI has done.

Most practices can't yet prove what AI has done. AI may be saving time at the task level, but without measurement, it is difficult to know whether those gains are reducing effort, creating capacity or simply shifting work elsewhere.

The adviser takeaway:
Before expanding an AI use case, set a baseline for turnaround time, review effort, hand-offs and capacity - so productivity gains can become measurable business value.

have measured the impact of AI
Where AI is helping
6.

AI is being used broadly, but trust is not evenly distributed.

89% run general-purpose AI assistants, yet 31% will not trust a large global AI company to deliver AI for regulated advice. Confidence follows the data, workflows and controls around AI, and it favours the platforms advisers already rely on.

The adviser takeaway:
Value comes from AI that is connected to your systems, data and advice process, not another standalone tool.

run general AI assistants
won't trust a global AI company
The opportunity
7.

Growth is waiting on capacity, not demand.

Advice businesses are not short of demand. 81% say they could absorb a 30% increase in adviser capacity, suggesting the bigger opportunity is creating more capacity to serve clients. 45% want AI applied to advice documents ahead of any other task - the heaviest workload and one of the least deployed areas today.

The adviser takeaway:
AI's value is not just in saving time - it's in what that time enables. Focus on the workflows that create capacity for clients, better service and growth.

could fill a 30% capacity lift
want AI on advice documents

Ready to supercharge your advice workflow?

See what's next for AI in Xplan
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Practical playbook

A path from experimentation to impact

Four steps to move beyond isolated task-level use and embed AI where it creates the most value.

1.

Start with the work that slows advice down

Don't start with the easiest AI use case. Start with the workflow creating the most friction.

Ask:

  • Where are advisers spending the most time?
  • Where does work get handed between people or systems?
  • Where does rework happen?

Advice-document production is a clear opportunity.

2.

Match the technology to the task

AI is not the answer to every workflow challenge. Its greatest impact comes in areas requiring interpretation, synthesis and decision support, while automation continues to deliver value in structured, repeatable processes.

Consider:

  • Where is judgement and expertise essential?
  • Where can technology remove administrative burden?
  • Where does the adviser need to stay in control?

The opportunity is not adopting more technology - it is using technology with purpose.

3.

Build trust into the workflow

30% of AI-engaged respondents say checking AI outputs consumes much of the time AI saves. Saving time on one task is only valuable if that time flows through the process. The opportunity is to design the workflow around AI - reducing hand-offs and rework while building review and governance into the process.

Build for:

  • Human review where judgement matters.
  • Clear controls and accountability.
  • Visibility into how AI outputs are created and approved.

Trust comes from the foundations around AI, not just the technology itself. The goal is a workflow where advisers can use AI with confidence and turn time saved into real capacity.

4.

Measure what AI unlocks

58% say measured hours saved per adviser would most justify further AI investment, yet only 28% have measured the time or cost impact of their existing AI tools. Time saved only creates value if you know where it goes.

Start by tracking:

  • Advice turnaround time
  • Review effort
  • Rework and hand-offs
  • Adviser capacity created

Use measurement to identify what is working, where value is being created and which workflows are ready to scale.

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Where does your practice sit?
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Iress' response

Building AI into advice — on a foundation advisers can trust

The research highlights a clear opportunity: advisers want AI that works within the systems, workflows and controls they already trust. 43% would rather wait for AI capability inside software they already use than adopt a separate tool.

The next phase of AI in advice will depend on connecting intelligence with trusted data, connected workflows and appropriate controls. This is the focus of Xplan Evolution - the continued evolution of one of the industry's most trusted advice platforms, shaped by customer feedback and where the profession is heading.

Working closely with our partners, we're focused on three things.

First

AI within trusted workflows

Bringing AI and intelligent tools into the advice process thoughtfully - helping advisers find information, understand context and take action while keeping them firmly in control.

Second

Creating more capacity

Reducing friction and complexity across the advice journey, so advisers can spend less time navigating systems and more time advising clients.

Third

A better advice experience

Evolving Xplan's proven data, calculations, compliance and workflows into a simpler, faster and more connected experience.

Designed with the profession, Xplan Evolution is being shaped with input from customers across Australia, the UK and South Africa, embedding AI where it can create meaningful value.

Ready to supercharge your advice workflow?

See what's next for AI in Xplan
Discover Xplan Evolution

About the research

How the study was built

AI in Advice 2026 was commissioned by Iress and conducted by Signal Advisory. It combines qualitative interviews with a large quantitative survey of engaged financial planning software users across Australia and New Zealand.

hours

of qualitative research on adviser technology and operating models

groups

interviewed in depth: licensees, self-licensed practices and institutions

survey responses

across the Australia and New Zealand advice community

Leverage AI for real impact

Read the full report for the seven findings and what the next phase of AI adoption could mean for your practice.

Read the report

AI in advice 2026: adoption, beliefs and barriers
Download the full report
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