Adapt or disappear: AI search is rapidly changing the referral game

Client referrals have entered the arena in the ongoing battle between humans and machines, with 8.7% of high net worth investors sharing that they now use AI to find financial advisors. 

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The advisor’s call for “adapt or perish” when it comes to technology tools is more important than ever. And while AI is a relative newcomer, the platforms have gotten quicker, wiser and more sophisticated. Potential clients have taken notice. 

AI: The search engine many investors rely on

A survey released by Ficomm Partners and Absolute Engagement emphasized the need for advisors to build stronger digital presences. In addition to AI, investors looked to social media (9.6%) and Google (13.1%) to research advisors. 

By demographics, 25.3% of investors with $5 million or more used AI for referrals, and 15% of those under age 45 did the same. 

“Two years ago, it didn’t cross our radar to add [AI] to our research because consumer behavior and AI really wasn’t common enough to warrant that question,” said Meg Carpenter, CEO of Ficomm Partners. “And today, two years later, it has its own section in the report. That’s amazing.”

READ MORE: Can an AI agent help financial advisors reel in referrals?

Samantha Russell, chief evangelist at FMG, has been telling advisors that AI’s rapid adoption for search means they must adapt to be seen.

“Increasingly, Americans looking for a financial advisor don’t type straightforward queries into Google. Instead, they’re opening ChatGPT, Claude and other large language model chatbots and having conversations loaded with context,” Russell wrote in a WealthThink column for Financial Planning. “… you need to be on AI’s radar. If you’re not, you probably don’t even know it, and that’s the problem.”

Russell will be back at ADVISE AI in 2026 talking about how advisors can be found through AI.

John O’Connell, CEO of The Oasis Group who will give a talk about building specialized AI at ADVISE AI, wrote in an email that social media accounts use AI algorithms based on a user’s prior social media activity. Meaning, they were also “leveraging AI in some way” when they found their advisor. 

Moreover, “these tools have implicitly created an ideal client profile of that prospective client,” he wrote. “If your social media approach targets ‘investors with over $500k in investible assets,’ you are highly likely to match a rich client profile created by social media.”

READ MORE: Clients put advisors on notice about sneaky AI use

Attracting human clients in an AI world

Last fall, Wealthtender polled 500 mass-affluent Americans about their preferences for advisor referrals. They learned that “25% planned to use ChatGPT or other AI search tools as one of their primary starting points,” wrote Brian Thorp, founder and CEO of Wealthtender.

“I absolutely believe that Americans looking to hire and research advisors will go online to do so, and [increasingly] use AI,” Thorp wrote. 

AI’s position as a starting point creates an opportunity for advisors with strong digital presences or those looking to strengthen theirs. Among investors under 45, 49% reported using at least four methods to evaluate a potential advisor, often including digital methods. 

“The next generation of high net worth clients are treating choosing an advisor like a hiring decision,” said Carpenter. “They’re searching, they’re comparing, they’re asking AI [and] validating before they ever reach out.”

Advisors can do much of the work to get ahead of AI. According to Carpenter, when a prospect asks AI to recommend an advisor, the AI tool they’re using pulls information not from a secret database but from the advisor’s own website, content, reviews or social media. 

“The same work that helps you to be discoverable on the internet is going to help you be discoverable on AI,” she said. 

Advisors looking to build a stronger digital presence can benefit from maintaining a consistent brand voice and providing clear, specific content across their digital platforms. 

Those wanting to stand out need to leverage client testimonials, produce content that demonstrates their differentiated expertise, and ensure this information appears across all social media channels. 

“Make sure you have a clear point of view reflected across social media,” said Carpenter. “And then make sure you’ve got AI layered on top of your traditional SEO.”