Young adults are increasingly turning to AI for advice on life and money decisions, says Aegon.
New research from the retirement specialist showed almost half (48%) of Gen Z say AI has changed their mind about a decision, compared with just 5% of those from the Silent Generation (81+).
More than half (55%) of Gen Z say they trust AI completely or somewhat and use it, significantly above the 18% of Boomers and 11% of people from the Silent Generation who said the same.
People aged 18 to 29 are also significantly more likely to use AI when discussing personal concerns and 24% say they would feel comfortable discussing financial worries with AI, compared with 5% of Boomers.
Dr Tom Mathar, head of Money:Mindshift at Aegon, said: “The real story isn’t whether people are using AI, it’s how they’re using it.
“What’s particularly striking is that almost half of Gen Z say AI has changed their mind about a decision. For many younger adults, AI is becoming more than a source of information. It’s increasingly a tool for exploring options, testing assumptions and thinking through important choices.”
Mathar said one of the most valuable things AI can do is help people to look at familiar decisions from a different perspective.
He added: “That can be powerful, particularly when we’re weighing complex financial trade-offs. Money decisions are rarely simple calculations. They involve trade-offs between competing priorities, both now and in the future. Our research suggests people are increasingly treating AI as a partner for thinking those trade-offs through.
“AI is excellent at surfacing information and challenging our assumptions, but it can only work with the information we give it. Many of life’s biggest decisions are shaped by experiences, relationships and personal priorities that are difficult to capture in a prompt. AI only knows what you tell it, and a personal logic hardly transpires in a chat window.”
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