Beyond the numbers: How AI is reshaping financial planning and why human judgment still matters
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Artificial intelligence has become an undeniable force in daily life. It shapes the way we search, shop and communicate, and it is increasingly present in the systems that support our homes, workplaces and communities.
Yet, even as AI continues to expand, a quiet hesitance lingers when it enters the world of personal finance. People may welcome algorithmic suggestions for movies or travel routes, but they pause when technology begins to influence decisions that feel deeply personal. Financial planning is closely tied to security, identity and long-held goals, which is why many people still approach AI-driven tools with caution.
This tension is palpable in an era when AI promises unprecedented access to information. Investors can now run thousands of scenarios, test assumptions and model their financial futures with tools that were once available only to large institutions. Still, the abundance of data can create a form of uncertainty. People want clarity, not confusion, and they want to know that technology will support their decisions rather than overwhelm them.
These issues are at the heart of Jacob Gold’s work. Gold is a third-generation financial planner, a faculty associate in the W. P. Carey School of Business and a co-creator of the Bachelor of Arts in financial planning program at Arizona State University. Through his courses and practice, Jacob Gold and Associates Inc., he has spent years helping individuals understand the forces that shape their financial lives. His client base ranges from corporations to athletes to high-net-worth families, and he has been recognized by Forbes for three consecutive years as a Best in State Wealth Advisor in Arizona.
Gold says he approaches AI not as a replacement for trusted financial relationships but as a powerful tool that needs context and oversight. He believes that technology can assist, but it cannot remove the responsibility to think critically about one’s financial choices.
In the following Q&A with ASU News, Gold outlines why he believes the industry sits at the intersection of innovation and human insight, and how that connection is steering its future.
Question: How is artificial intelligence reshaping the way individuals approach financial planning, and what shifts are you seeing in client expectations?
Answer: We are still in the first few innings of this AI game. The amount of data and tools available has already been a game changer for investors, especially investors who don’t have a large enough nest egg to hire the most qualified and skilled financial professionals.
Now investors can run thousands of hypothetical scenarios to see whether they will run out of money before they run out of life, based on the rate of return they earn and the amount they plan to distribute monthly in retirement. This allows investors to thoroughly evaluate the investment before making a decision.
As a kid, I remember my teachers saying “garbage in, garbage out,” which means that if you input the wrong data, you will get the wrong answer. Investors need to know what to ask AI and have an adequate financial background to recognize when the AI model is perhaps modeling something that does not look right.
At this point, I don’t feel client expectations have changed much since AI became mainstream. Eventually, it will change, requiring financial advisors to focus more on empathy, financial counseling and more frequent communication. Well-positioned financial firms can get a leg up on their competition if they can combine the power of AI with the human touch of a caring financial planner. The hybrid approach — AI plus the wisdom of a qualified, caring financial planner — will be the new norm.
Q: From your perspective as an information systems expert, which AI tools or applications are having the most significant impact on financial professionals’ day-to-day work?
A: There is AI software that records your conversations and generates an overview and a task list based on them.
There is also AI software that allows you to feed it a set of questions and answers, and it will create a podcast using AI-generated avatars.
Lastly, traditional retirement software has been enhanced by AI to run numerous trial scenarios, thereby stress-testing the investor's assumptions.
Q: AI promises greater personalization in financial decision-making. How exactly does AI generate these data-driven insights, and what makes them more accurate or useful than traditional methods?
A: AI can process millions of Monte Carlo simulations and create granular datasets from different data sources, including tax records, banking and credit transactions, investment returns, economic indicators and worst-case scenarios. In the past, many of these data points were estimates, and people made the best decisions with the limited information available.
Today, they have so much information that it can all become white noise, making it difficult to focus on what is most sensible. This is why the role of a financial planner is evolving, but the need for a well-informed and experienced financial planner to serve as your financial guide has never been more critical.
Q: What routine or time-consuming tasks in financial planning are now being automated by AI, and how is that changing the role of the advisor?
A: AI is freeing up time for financial planners from numerous compliance demands, marketing strategies, data aggregation, recording and documenting client conversations, portfolio rebalancing and appointment scheduling.
The most intelligent financial institutions will utilize the time saved by AI and allocate it to clients through more personalized interactions and counseling. Lazy financial institutions will use AI to reduce labor costs and automate more tasks, enabling them to accomplish more with less effort.
Q: Accessibility is a central theme in today’s tech landscape. In what ways is AI helping make high-quality financial guidance more available to underserved or newer investors?
A: My company, Jacob Gold & Associates Inc., had a high account minimum in 2024. The cost of providing solid financial advice prevented us from working with everyone.
Now, with AI, we can delegate many clerical tasks, reducing costs and allowing us to help more people.
Small investors now have access to investment data that was previously available only to the largest financial institutions. The trick, though, is still to make sense of all the data. Nonetheless, the average small investor has more information available to help them form their financial strategies than at any time in history.
Q: Looking ahead, what emerging AI capabilities do you believe will have the most significant potential to transform financial planning over the next five to 10 years?
A: I often tell my ASU students that personal finance is more (about being) personal than (it is) about finance. With AI, the financial planning industry is expected to evolve into a more service-oriented sector. Providing customized, personalized financial guidance to individuals with ample financial education will help elevate the industry and make it more helpful and inclusive.
We are just scratching the surface of what AI can do for investors. Not all of it will be good. Some investors may be intellectually lazy and follow the AI recommendation without first verifying the accuracy of the data source.
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