Two independent advisers share how they put AI to work in their practices, as INN8's Head of Platform Innovation calls for governance to keep pace with adoption

South African financial advisers no longer need a technical background to put artificial intelligence to work in their practices, but the advisers who benefit most are those who start with clean data, a clear purpose and proper governance. That was the consistent message from two independent financial advisers who shared their real-world experiences at INN8's latest Digital Lowdown webinar.

The session, hosted by Michael Mulder, Head of Platform Innovation at INN8, featured independent financial adviser Robin Hall and certified financial planner and analytics specialist Liana Ahrens Teixeira, who each demonstrated how they have built AI into their day-to-day practices. They also shared what other advisers should weigh up before doing the same.

Citing a recent global study of more than 6 200 financial planners, Mulder opened the session by noting that AI use among advice firms is accelerating, with practical applications concentrated in client communications, marketing, onboarding, data collection and risk profiling. He cautioned that governance and security have not kept pace with adoption, and urged advisers to treat data protection as a business-wide discipline rather than a personal IT concern.

"There's a massive emphasis internally on governance, protection and risk frameworks around the introduction of AI," Mulder said. "It doesn't matter if someone sits at the front desk answering the phone or is a developer on the back end, everyone needs to be educated on the risks and understand the data governance impact before any of that information touches an AI tool."

Hall, who spent roughly a decade building his own AI-integrated operating system after off-the-shelf CRM tools failed to fit the way he worked, said accessibility has transformed over the past 12 months. "The barriers to entry have become a lot lower," he said. "I've got no programming background or IT education at all, but it's allowed me to go down a very deep rabbit hole when it comes to developing my system."

Hall's system now consolidates his task management, client workflows, meeting-note summarisation and market updates in one place, freeing up time he says he has redirected into building deeper client relationships rather than administrative work. As a direct result, he completed his annual client reviews by July last year, months ahead of his usual pace. He admits the process was one of trial and error rather than a single breakthrough. "It's not a silver bullet," he said, adding that ongoing security review is essential once client data is involved: he uses a dedicated AI agent to continually assess the security of his own systems.

Ahrens Teixeira urged advisers who have not yet started to begin with low-stakes, everyday tools, such as Google's AI mode or Microsoft Copilot for those already in a Microsoft environment, before introducing any client data. "It's like anything new: if you're new to it, start at the beginning," she said. "Get to know what it is, understand it can be dangerous if not used properly, and decide why you want to use it before you touch any data."

Using a live demonstration, Ahrens Teixeira showed how AI tools can surface data quality problems, such as inconsistent name formatting, incorrect date-of-birth captures and other errors, which many practices experience without realising it. She stressed that any client data taken outside a secured, licensed environment should first be sanitised or anonymised, and that advisers should satisfy themselves about where their data ultimately shows up and which underlying models process it. "If you even have to ask yourself whether you should share something, don't," she said.

Both advisers and Mulder agreed that AI adoption does not remove the adviser from the advice process. Ahrens Teixeira noted that artificial intelligence is not licensed to give financial advice, meaning human advisers remain the accountable party for any recommendation, however the AI assists them with the underlying analysis. Mulder said this human accountability, alongside rising expectations under the Conduct of Financial Institutions (COFI) framework, makes it increasingly important for advisers to keep evidence of their advice process.

Asked for the single most practical step an adviser could take immediately, Hall suggested starting with a low-risk task, such as consolidating multiple newsletters or fact sheets into a single simplified client communication, a task he said used to take him three days and now takes minutes. Ahrens Teixeira advised asking five questions before adopting any AI tool, namely who, what, where, why and how, starting with data security, confidentiality and staff education, and extending AI literacy beyond the lead adviser to the whole practice.

INN8's Digital Lowdown webinar series is aimed at helping advisers and wealth managers keep pace with technology developments relevant to their practices. The 23 July session forms part of an ongoing programme addressing the practical realities and the risks of integrating AI into financial advice.