Two AI tracks for financial services firms

As I design and deploy AI across advice businesses, one pattern is becoming clear: capability is developing along two distinct tracks.

The first sits with internal power users. They’re often in paraplanning, operations, analysis and advanced client service roles. Give these folks governed access to modern, free-form AI systems, and they can research across client data, model scenarios, draft compliant documentation and automate workflows at a pace that used to require an IT development team.

The second sits primarily with advisers. Advisers work best conversationally, within tightly shaped workflows, with tools that require little formal training and produce predictable outputs aligned to compliance expectations.

The most effective firms are deliberately designing around this two-track distinction. Clients speak to advisers in natural language. Advisers delegate complex tasks to trusted internal specialists, typically using plain-language instructions.

Those specialists use sophisticated AI-enabled tools to interrogate data and assemble clear, structured outputs - not dumbed-down, but predictable, accurate and compliant - which advisers can readily interpret and communicate back to clients.

The client-adviser relationship remains central, while internal power users apply advanced AI capability to expand what each adviser can deliver in that relationship. Advisers remain focused on clients rather than continually relearning rapidly changing AI tools, while power users improve rapidly with each new wave of capability.

It’s a powerful operating pattern.