The number of advice professionals using AI has risen by 46% since 2025, with 2 in 5 (41%) now using it, research from Dynamic Planner shows.
The survey shows a clear overall shift towards AI: the number of firms introducing AI as a future plan has fallen whilst the number actively using AI has increased, indicating it has moved from being a plan to already being something many are using.
Most striking is that the ‘do not plan to use’ group no longer exists. Virtually the entire industry, 99%, now say AI will be positive, although getting it right is still viewed as the biggest tech challenge by three in ten.
2025’s number one tech challenge - data flow and integrations - has been replaced by AI adoption.
Larger firms are most likely to be using AI, while mid-sized firms are most likely to be in the investigation phase. Client numbers at larger firms have increased on 2025, potentially pointing to firms embracing the power of data, technology and AI.
In addition, 1 in 10 now using chatbots/AI agents to service clients, cementing 2026 as the year of Agentic AI, with that number set to grow exponentially over the coming 12 months.
Rory McLaren, chief technology officer at Dynamic Planner, said: “Last week the FCA called out agentic AI as one of the big scaling opportunities. And of all the findings from Advice 26, the one that is most profoundly interesting and indicative of this, is that 1 in 10 firms are already servicing clients via chatbot or AI agent. With AI growth showing itself to be exponential, firms wanting the ability to scale, and the manner in which the industry is now embracing it, 2026 will be the year of Agentic AI.
“AI as a technology is moving on at such a pace, we would need a crystal ball to understand what we will ask of the industry on AI in Advice 27. The one thing for certain is that governance of AI will be top of the list. For the more autonomous the AI, the more the governance matters. Advice professionals viewed ‘getting it right’ as one of the biggest tech challenges when it comes to adopting AI, so do your homework, do your due diligence, get it right. Advice-grade AI has to be the goal.”
