Despite Aussie Gen Z being highly sceptical of the technology, with over a quarter (27.8 per cent) calling it their least trusted form of information, and only 19.2 per cent saying it is their most trusted, young people in Australia are looking to AI for financial advice, purely because they can’t afford real guidance.
Following the launch of its Vega AI assistant, Webull found that 8 per cent of its Australian client base is already using it, with over half of those users (52 per cent) being under 35. Those under 46 make up 80 per cent of the user base.
While this appears to be out of the ordinary for the generation, the trend of disapproval but still using AI is not new, with Gen Z having the second-highest adoption (56.8 per cent) of AI for searching for and comparing product options, according to The Changing Landscape of Discovery and Trust report by Oysterly Media. Millennials top adoption at 64 per cent, in line with the adoption statistics by Webull.
It is understandable that younger generations, usually with less disposable income, are looking at free tools to help advise their spending and investment decisions, with the average annual advice fee now sitting at $5,235, up from $4,572 less than a year earlier, according to Russell Investments’ Value of Advice report.
According to Webull’s findings, most users request a summary of their watchlist, followed by explainers of companies, including NVIDIA, Microsoft, AMD, Micron, Palantir, and Tesla, as well as the Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500 exchange-traded funds.
“Quick, on-demand research lowers the effort of checking an idea, so it looks like traders are using the technology to broaden their research set and put smaller amounts across a wider range of positions, rather than backing one or two big calls. They are trading more often, and more deliberately,” said Webull Australia chief Rob Talevski, as seen by ifa.
Despite its lack of cost and free access, using AI for financial advice comes with risks, as CPA Australia outlined around tax time earlier this year.
CPA Australia’s head of tax policy and advocacy priorities, Jenny Wong, has said that, particularly as the 2026–27 federal budget contains some of the “most substantial proposed changes” seen in decades, such as reforms to the capital gains tax and negative gearing, generalised advice from AI and “finfluencers” could lead to expensive mistakes.
“With major changes proposed across capital gains tax, property investment and trust structures, it would be very unwise to rely on generalised advice from social media or AI tools,” she said.
“The rules are becoming more complex and more nuanced. What might appear to be a simple strategy online could have very different outcomes depending on your individual circumstances.”
Regarding investment decisions, the Australian government’s Moneysmart service acknowledges that the technology can paint a broad picture and send a user in the right direction, but advises caution regarding limitations and hallucinations.
“Like humans, AI can be wrong. AI tools can produce inaccurate or biased information. Relying on them alone, especially for investing, can lead to decisions that end badly,” the page said.
“In particular, ASIC warns that scammers use generative AI to create vast networks of deepfake websites and endorsements to lure victims. AI platforms may repeat this information back to you.”
The page also warned that the tools cannot specialise in advice, are not licensed to give personal advice legally, and can present major privacy risks.
“Using AI sometimes means sharing personal information. Always think about how your data is collected, stored and used. As with all online interactions, keep your personal information safe and don’t share what you don’t need to. This includes your date of birth, address, email, and financial information,” the page said.
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?Make Cyber Daily a preferred news source on Google.
