You wouldn’t let a patient diagnose themselves using Google, write their own script and walk out the door. Yet every day, people are doing something similar with their finances – entering their salary, goals and personal details into ChatGPT or another AI tool and asking it to build them a financial plan.
AI is everywhere. It is fast, accessible and often delivers answers with confidence and certainty. For time-poor professionals juggling long hours, education and life outside of work, the appeal is obvious.
However, sounding confident and being correct are two very different things. When it comes to your financial future, the gap between a generic AI output and personalised professional advice can be significant.
Where AI Can Be Useful
AI can be a powerful tool when used appropriately. It can help you prepare for financial conversations, understand concepts and think through possible questions before meeting with your adviser.
Used responsibly, AI may be useful for:
- Stress testing general scenarios, such as the impact of parental leave, a fellowship year or time away from work.
- Brainstorming ideas or options you may not have considered.
- Summarising complex financial concepts in plain English.
- Helping you prepare better questions before speaking with a professional adviser.
Think of AI as preparation, not prescription. It is at its best when it helps you ask better questions – not when you rely on it to make decisions for you.
Where AI Falls Short
Accountability
A licensed financial adviser operates within a regulated framework and has legal obligations, including a best interests duty.
AI tools do not. ChatGPT does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence, it does not know your full circumstances and it is not accountable for the outcome of the information it provides.
If a strategy generated by AI does not go to plan, there is no adviser to call, no formal complaints process attached to that advice and no one responsible for helping you fix the issue.
It Doesn’t Know You
An intern six months out of university with HECS debt and no dependants is in a very different financial position to a registrar with a partner, mortgage and baby on the way.
AI only knows what you tell it. Even then, it cannot properly weigh up what matters most to you. It does not know whether you value time with family over maximising returns, whether debt makes you anxious, or whether you would prefer a more conservative strategy because it helps you sleep at night.
Your salary is not the whole story. A strategy built on numbers alone can miss the human factors that often matter most.
It Can Be Confidently Wrong
AI tools generate responses based on patterns in data. The challenge is that they can present information with confidence, even when it is outdated, incomplete or incorrect.
A superannuation contribution cap, tax rule, insurance feature or property strategy may be presented as fact, even if it is no longer accurate or is missing important context.
For example, a simple question about negative gearing may receive a confident answer that does not account for current or proposed changes, eligibility rules or the broader tax position of the person asking the question.
This can be difficult to identify when the topic sits outside your area of expertise.
Advice Is More Than Information
A financial plan is only valuable if it can be implemented and maintained over time.
AI can generate a strategy in seconds, but it will not check whether you actually set up your salary packaging, started investing regularly, reviewed your insurance or updated your plan when your circumstances changed.
It also cannot have the honest conversations that often matter most. It cannot challenge your thinking, pick up hesitation, recognise when a strategy is causing stress, or know when it may be better to pause and revisit an approach later.
Financial outcomes are not achieved through information alone. They come from planning, behaviour, implementation and ongoing review.
The Value of Personalised Financial Advice
Good advice considers your full circumstances, including your income, debts, family situation, goals, risk tolerance, career stage and future plans.
It also takes into account the practical and emotional realities behind financial decisions. Restructuring debt during a relationship breakdown, preparing for parental leave, reviewing finances before a fellowship year or planning for private practice are not decisions that can be reduced to numbers alone.
This is where professional judgement, experience and accountability matter.
At Walshs, our advisers work with clients across different stages of life and career to build tailored strategies that reflect their personal goals and financial position. You can learn more about our financial planning services and our specialist financial planning for doctors services.
Can I Use ChatGPT for Financial Advice?
AI can be useful for general research and education, but it should not be relied on as a substitute for personalised financial advice.
It may help explain concepts or prepare questions for your adviser, but it does not understand your full financial position, personal goals or legal obligations.
Is AI Financial Advice Reliable?
AI can be helpful, but it is not always reliable. It may provide information that is outdated, incomplete or missing important context.
For financial decisions, it is important to seek advice from a qualified professional who can consider your circumstances and provide tailored recommendations.
What Can AI Be Useful for Before Meeting a Financial Adviser?
AI can help you prepare for a meeting by summarising financial concepts, generating questions to ask, or helping you think through broad scenarios.
For example, you might use it to understand terms such as salary packaging, concessional contributions, income protection or debt structuring before discussing your specific situation with an adviser.
Why Is Personalised Financial Advice Important?
Personalised advice considers your goals, income, debts, family situation, career stage, risk tolerance and future plans.
A strategy that looks good in theory may not be appropriate for your circumstances. Personal advice helps ensure the strategy is practical, compliant and aligned with what you want to achieve.
Where to Next?
AI is here to stay, and used well, it can be a genuinely useful tool. But when it comes to the decisions that shape your financial future, there is no replacement for personalised advice from a professional who understands your goals and is accountable for the advice they provide.
If you would like to discuss your situation and how Walshs can help you build a strategy that works for you, please contact our team at enquiries@walshs.com.au or (07) 3221 5677.
