Originally appeared in
Look after the pennies or don’t sweat the small stuff? Try both
Published in The Sunday Times on February 8, 2026.
The growth of artificial intelligence has caused speculation of late about the fate of several professions, with translators, receptionists and data entry operatives featuring in one list of occupations under threat. Also on that list is financial advisers.
I’m old enough to remember manual telephone exchanges. Coming from a farming background I can remember being told to call the operator and ask for Elphin 14 to request a visit from the AI man, at a time when AI meant something else altogether. Back then the abbreviation AI usually referred to an artificial insemination service for cattle.
Much like automatic telephone exchanges dispensed with the need for operators, thus wiping out an entire profession, financial advisers need to consider whether they could be replaced by a machine. A speaker at an industry event which I attended recently, assured us that financial advisers are not going to be replaced by AI, they are going to be replaced by financial advisers who use AI.
“Gary down the pub” is an expression sometimes used by financial advisers when describing the challenges they face when trying to convince their clients to pursue certain strategies, such as saving to a pension. “A friend of mine (Gary down the pub) told me pensions are no good because although you get tax relief on contributions, you pay tax on withdrawals”. A statement which is correct but incomplete, totally lacking in any nuance and very damaging if implemented.
My AI journey so far leads me to conclude that AI has some very useful features, such as the ability to synthesize information from different sources. When we used internet search for a query the user had to choose a website from the results and read the content from that particular source. When using an AI search engine, the software very usefully synthesizes information from many sources. The problem is that you have to have a fairly good understanding of the subject matter to begin with in order to determine how much of the response you get has been gleaned from the Revenue pensions manual, and how much has come from more questionable sources.
Even if you know the correct answer, you’re only half way there. It takes a serious amount of conviction to convince an AI engine that it is wrong on a topic. You have to instruct the programme that it is wrong, usually several times and only when you provide evidence to prove it are you met with a profuse apology and a promise to do better. Pension legislation is just too nuanced for AI and based on recent changes to legislation, that’s not going to change.
I recently participated in an exercise to determine how I might use AI in my business. Much of what resulted was designed to automate tasks I currently perform manually. I could for example, install an AI chatbot on my website which would annoy existing or potential clients by not answering their questions and then gather their contact details for a call during office hours. As a sole adviser one of my selling points is the human touch, so I chose not to do that. After a recent holiday experience where we stayed in a hotel which had no staff I’m going to pass on the option to turn my business into a faceless computer programme. I think we can all agree that more human touch and not less is what is needed in the world.
So are financial advisers going to be replaced by AI? Well AI is emerging at a time when some advisers, certainly those who practice real financial planning, are pivoting towards an offering which includes things which AI cannot do, like coaching clients to determine what they value and what kind of life they want to give to their future self and those close to them, and then putting a plan in place to achieve that. Advisers who provide only transactional advice and access to products, which have been largely commoditised anyway, will struggle because consumers will use AI to question the poor advice that has been a feature of the industry due to inappropriate remuneration structures which result in conflicts of interest.
Not everyone is under threat. Gary down the pub isn’t going to be replaced by AI. Gary is going to be replaced by another bar stool adviser who uses AI.
Eoghan Gavigan is a certified financial planner and the owner of Highfield Financial Planning hfp.ie
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