Few Americans Trust AI for Money Advice, Though Some Use It, Gallup Poll Shows

A new Gallup poll conducted in partnership with Edward Jones finds a meaningful minority of U.S. adults who looked for financial guidance used artificial intelligence tools, but most Americans remain skeptical about AI’s competence on money matters.

Key findings from the Gallup survey

The poll, fielded March 20–April 6, 2026, of 5,075 U.S. adults age 21 and older, reported several notable patterns:

• About one in five Americans who sought financial advice in the prior year turned to AI for guidance (source 1).
• Across all U.S. adults, roughly three in 10 said they had “a great deal” or “some” confidence in AI’s expertise for managing money; only 3% said they trusted AI “a great deal” (source 1).
• By contrast, roughly eight in 10 adults expressed at least some confidence in human financial advisers (source 1).
• Despite higher confidence in advisers, only about one-third of people who sought financial guidance actually consulted a professional; 73% relied on their own internet research (source 1).

Who is using AI — and who is turning to professionals?

The survey shows generational divides in how people look for help with money. Younger adults were more likely to use AI when seeking guidance, while older adults were more likely to consult licensed financial advisers (source 1).

• About a quarter of Gen Z and millennial adults who sought financial advice used AI, compared with 16% of Gen Xers and 7% of baby boomers (source 1).
• Professional adviser use rose with age: 14% of Gen Z and 21% of millennials who sought guidance used a professional, versus 34% of Gen X and 55% of baby boomers (source 1).

What other sources do Americans use?

Gallup’s results underline that people draw on a variety of sources when making financial decisions. In the prior year:

• 73% who sought advice did their own internet research (source 1).
• 35% consulted a parent, sibling or other relative; 26% turned to news, media or social media (source 1).
• Smaller shares named friends, authors/influencers, employers or retirement-plan providers, robo-advisers, or teachers and professors (source 1).

Experts’ cautions and practical advice

Gallup’s reporting included guidance from academics and certified planners who advise caution in relying solely on AI for financial decisions.

• Taha Choukhmane, an associate professor at MIT Sloan School of Management, told Gallup that AI can be useful at the start of someone’s learning journey to explain concepts, and he recommended combining AI output with other trusted sources and asking AI to cite references for verification (source 1).
• Bobbi Rebell, a certified financial planner and founder of Financial Wellness Strategies, said AI does not carry fiduciary responsibility and can’t fully know an individual’s life in the way a human adviser can; she emphasized that ultimate responsibility for decisions based on AI rests with the user (source 1).

How this fits into broader patterns of AI adoption and trust

Gallup’s findings on finance echo broader U.S. trends showing rising use of AI tools alongside persistent skepticism. A separate Pew Research Center study summarized in reporting by Forbes found nearly half of U.S. adults use AI chatbots for information or work tasks, yet many express concern about safety, accuracy and the pace of advancement; younger adults in that survey were both the heaviest users and among the most worried (source 3).

Those broader surveys reinforce Gallup’s generational split on AI use and the trust gap: Americans are adopting AI features but remain cautious about relying on them for consequential decisions.

Implications for consumers and the financial industry

Several practical implications follow from the poll’s findings:

• Consumers: Given limited public confidence in AI’s money-management expertise, the Gallup reporting supports using AI primarily as an educational tool rather than a sole decision-maker; users should cross-check recommendations with licensed professionals or trusted sources (source 1).
• Financial advisers and firms: The gap between high confidence in advisers and relatively low use of them suggests a market opportunity to reach younger clients who prefer low-cost digital help. Firms might combine digital tools with human oversight or clearer disclosure of fiduciary responsibilities to attract younger savers (source 1).
• Regulation and industry standards: The reporting highlights questions about accountability and legal responsibilities when people rely on AI. Certified planners note that AI lacks a fiduciary duty, underscoring a regulatory and consumer-protection conversation that policymakers and industry groups may face as AI tools proliferate in personal finance (source 1).

Unresolved questions and limitations

The Gallup poll provides snapshots of behavior and attitudes but leaves some open points:

• The survey measures self-reported use and confidence; it does not evaluate the accuracy of financial guidance delivered by AI tools or the outcomes for users who followed AI recommendations (source 1).
• Differences in trust and use across demographic groups exist, but the poll’s public reporting offers limited detail beyond generational splits; regional, income, race/ethnicity and education patterns were not reported in the AP summary (source 1).
• Broader research, such as Pew’s, documents additional public worries—about data security and the pace of AI development—that likely shape people’s willingness to entrust AI with financial decisions (source 3). Gallup’s results align with those broader attitudes but do not substitute for targeted studies of consumer outcomes (source 1, source 3).

Timeline

1. March 20–April 6, 2026: Gallup conducts its probability-based poll of 5,075 U.S. adults age 21+ for the survey reported in partnership with Edward Jones (source 1).
2. June 2026: Pew Research Center releases a separate large survey documenting growing chatbot use and rising public skepticism; that research was summarized in reporting referenced here (source 3).
3. August 7, 2026: AP publishes the Gallup findings and reporting that form the basis of this article (source 1).

Bottom line

Gallup’s survey shows a notable minority of Americans are trying AI for money questions, particularly younger adults, but trust in AI for financial expertise is limited. The divergence between where people get advice and which sources they trust points to both consumer caution and an opening for the financial industry to blend technology with human oversight while regulators and advisers weigh accountability and disclosure standards (source 1, source 3).