Artificial intelligence has become a staple in financial advisory practices, with 80% of U.S. advisors now employing the technology in some capacity, according to the 2026 Morningstar Investor Perspectives Advisor study released Monday. That marks a sharp rise from 67% a year earlier. Yet the hoped-for windfall in client-facing hours has not materialized: advisors still spend only 53% of their week on direct client work, far below the 63% they consider ideal—a gap that Morningstar calculates as a four-hour shortfall in a standard 40-hour week.
“AI is helping advisors run faster, but the treadmill is speeding up too,” said Joe Agostinelli, senior director of market research at Morningstar. “More documentation, faster service expectations, and more client questions mean AI is absorbing complexity rather than simply freeing up time.” The findings are based on an online survey of 501 advisors conducted between July 21 and Aug. 16, spanning independent and regional broker-dealers, RIAs, wirehouses, and insurance broker-dealers.
Where AI is making inroads
The productivity case for AI is strengthening. Nearly half of advisors (48%) said AI had significantly or moderately improved their efficiency, up from 36% in 2025. The share of non-users has fallen from one-third to one-fifth over the same period. Most applications remain back-office oriented: 43% use AI for internal tasks like meeting summaries and email drafts, 36% for brainstorming, 35% for research and due diligence, and 33% for client messaging. When asked where AI helped most, 57% cited more efficient client communications, including note summaries and follow-ups.
Advisors remain cautious about letting algorithms drive investment decisions. Only 18% rated AI tools as highly reliable for portfolio recommendations or investment choices. Sentiment is improving but still divided: 42% now view AI as a positive for their practice, up from 33% last year, while 19% see it as a threat and 39% are undecided. These findings echo Vanguard's September research, which found most firms using AI for administrative tasks rather than client-facing advice.
Administrative overload persists
The biggest drag on client time remains operational. Fifty-six percent of advisors named administrative and operational work as the top barrier to delivering desired service, far outpacing a general lack of time (37%). In open-ended responses, 26% cited paperwork as the task they would most like to eliminate. Client-focused work has inched up only slightly, from 51% of the workweek in 2024 to 53% this year, and 62% of advisors say they want more client time—on average, they would reclaim 19% of their week to reallocate toward clients.
Part of that reclaimed time could address the human side of advice. More than a third of advisors (36%) said client behavior and emotional decision-making made it harder to deliver advice, with emotional reactions to market news the most common issue. The share of advisors who say they add value by offering emotional support during hardship has nearly doubled, from 14% in 2024 to 27% in 2026. “Advisors are increasingly the people who sort signal from noise and help clients keep moving toward their goals,” Agostinelli said.
Private markets add complexity
The survey also highlights how new investment products are adding to advisors' workloads. Forty percent of respondents now offer private-market products, up from 35% in 2025, with another 5% planning to add them. Due diligence remains a hurdle: fees and fee transparency were the most-cited challenge (46%), followed by limited liquidity (41%) and limited visibility into underlying holdings (35%). Satisfaction with manager reporting has slipped, with only 25% of advisors offering private investments highly satisfied with manager transparency, down from 38% a year ago.
These pressures are reshaping what advisors seek from asset managers. While investment performance remains the most-cited source of value, its importance fell 6 percentage points to 45%. Advisors increasingly value practical support, including an accessible wholesaler or service team (37%), consistent follow-through (29%), and clear communication (27%). The findings suggest that as market dynamics evolve, advisors are looking for partners who can ease operational burdens, not just deliver returns.
