The AI advice frontier: Use, trust, and the human edge

Key Findings

• — 32% of Vanguard investors (weighted) have used AI for personal finance, investing or retirement planning: 43% of Gen Z and millennial investors, 41% of Gen X and 15% of baby boomers and older; 28% of men versus 18% of women
• — Among investors who have used AI, 37% report getting erroneous information and 44% are unsure about its quality; only 19% express confidence in the accuracy of what they received
• — 38% of older investors, 16% of Gen Z and millennials and 24% of Gen X do not know whether general AI tools are legally obligated to act in their best interests, or mistakenly believe they are
• — 80% of Gen Z and millennials, 83% of Gen X and 85% of baby boomers and older are uncomfortable with AI taking financial action on their behalf; 46% would be more comfortable if a human reviewed AI actions first and 31% say nothing would make them comfortable
• — Investors were about 11 times as likely to say AI increased the value they place on human advice as to say it reduced it (32% versus 2.9%)

Methodology Notes

AI & Advice Survey by Vanguard's Investment Strategy Group, June 2026, n=6,686 Vanguard personal investors (37% women, 63% men; 59% advised, 41% self-directed; 16% Gen Z and millennials, 24% Gen X, 60% baby boomers and older); headline shares are weighted to the Vanguard personal-investor population by age and advice status. Sample is the firm's own clients, not the general population; self-reported accuracy. The publisher sells advised and robo-advice services, which bears on the 'human edge' framing. The paper is dated 'September 2026' with no day (day set to 01 by convention); PDF metadata created 2026-09-25, modified 2026-10-01; InvestmentNews covered it on 2026-10-01. Verified on the corporate.vanguard.com PDF (HTTP 200, 18 pages, pdftotext). Curator re-verified 2026-10-19 on the PDF (HTTP 200, 645,732 bytes, 18 pages): every figure above read in the body text.

Sources