PensionBee has said people are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to start thinking about retirement, for example by asking ‘what if’ questions. However, the pension platform argues that users do not trust AI for commercial queries, and that such tools cannot currently make transactions.  

After volatility in advisory firms’ shares prompted by a new AI tool, advisers might take comfort from PensionBee’s analysis of how people currently use AI for retirement queries. 

The pension provider has noted a 10% drop in web traffic to government guidance site MoneyHelper in the past six months, while the website has seen a steady increase in the number of AI overviews – brief summaries generated by search engines – generated over time, based on semrush data.  

This suggests that “AI increasingly satisfies the generic, early-stage needs of savers when they start to consider pension and retirement options”, according to PensionBee. 

The provider noted that ChatGPT, when prompted, suggested itself that “retired people and those nearing retirement are quietly but meaningfully using ChatGPT and similar AI tools as a thinking partner, not a replacement for regulated advice”.  

“As many of us have experienced, AI is a generally good substitute for some financial guidance, but advisory services are better protected. In the face of continued improvements to AI technology, the retirement industry faces a serious challenge of remaining relevant and trusted while savers increasingly rely on AI for more complex guidance and even personalised advice,” said Luis Mejia, head of data and AI at PensionBee.  

There has apparently been no drop in traffic to PensionWise, which allows people over 50 to book a free appointment, showing a divide between informational guidance that is more vulnerable to AI and transactional services that are more resilient. 

PensionBee claims that pension providers themselves are protected from AI, arguing that people are likely making navigational queries to a login page or asking questions with a commercial intent to make a money decision - preferring trusted brand sources for this.  

PensionBee argues that AI is not currently replacing financial advice, defined as a personalised recommendation with liability, citing a trust gap among users and regulators alike because of the risk of ‘hallucinations’.  

However, firms themselves do rely on AI. The Financial Conduct Authority has said that about three-quarters of financial services firms already use such tools as it launched a review into the impact of AI on financial services last month. A call for input to the review closes on 24 February. 

The review’s launch followed a report by the Treasury Committee warning that the UK is unprepared for AI-related shocks. The MPs said the FCA should publish practical guidance for firms by the end of the year, and that the Treasury should designate major AI and cloud providers as critical third parties to the financial system, meaning they would fall under the Critical Third Parties regime introduced a year ago.