As artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT breaches 100 million users, Professional Paraplanner asked paraplanners whether the development of AI software poses a threat to the profession.
The findings from our latest Parameters Survey showed that more than three fifths (62%) of paraplanners do not expect AI technology such as ChatGPT to affect their role, with only 21% believing it could pose a threat. But 17% said they were unsure at present.
The general consensus was that while technology could aid simple tasks, it would struggle to replicate the paraplanning role across more complex cases.
One said: “It could potentially produce simpler advice reports and review letters, however, I still feel the more complex advice reports require a human to complete.”
Another noted that with people not providing accurate information, the paraplanner needs to look closely at the words used by a client and adviser and question whenever possible – “a task unable to be carried out by technology,” they said.
Primarily paraplanners argued that AI would not be able to replicate the relationship and rapport that advisers and paraplanners build with their clients.
One respondent said: “This is what makes an adviser proposition stand out from some online offerings. Maybe AI could be used for some report writing and for certain transactional pieces but not for the overall holistic side of the paraplanning role.”
Another commented: “The personal relationships we have with our clients are too important. I fail to see how AI will be able to deal with the complexity of the situations I deal with. If it can deal with the simple stuff fantastic, but it will still have to be checked by someone.”
However, others felt that technology would need to be embraced by firms seeking to keep up with changing times and developments in the market.
One paraplanner suggested that firms could adopt AI to alleviate the basic reporting writing and tedious tasks, allowing paraplanners to focus on more interactive planning and research that would benefit the client.
Another told Professional Paraplanner that its firm is seeking to develop internally the ability to pre-generate much of the final report, with only limited additional commentary from paraplanners, enabling its team to focus more upon pre-report research and recommendation work.
A fellow respondent added: “I do not think that the paraplanner role would be eliminated but I do believe that it could be stripped back to merely checking AI generated documents for compliance issues.”
