TL;DR
The Financial Conduct Authority has polled 18 to 40 year olds on where they get investment information. AI tools came top on trust at 56%, ahead of broadcast, newspapers and influencers. Close to half of those asked assumed, incorrectly, that AI-generated financial information falls under regulation.
The ranking
Set against the 56% who trust AI, television and radio managed 47% and newspapers 46%. Social media personalities trailed at 29%. Respondents also expect their reliance on these tools to grow over the coming year.
The ordering is the interesting part. A chatbot with no accountability, no compensation scheme behind it and no obligation to act in the user’s interest now outranks every regulated or editorially accountable channel in this age group.
The gap that matters
The trust figure is a story. The regulation misunderstanding is a problem. Someone who believes AI investment guidance is regulated may reasonably assume the protections that come with regulated advice: suitability requirements, a complaints route, recourse to the Financial Ombudsman, and cover from the compensation scheme if things go wrong. None of that attaches to a general-purpose model answering a question about where to put money.
Lucy Castledine, who directs consumer investments at the regulator, framed it as a question of understanding the limits: “AI can help you research companies, understand jargon or explore options before you make a decision. But you need to understand how you’re protected and continue to use your own judgement.”
Looking forward
Regulators keep arriving at the same place from different directions this week. The advertising watchdog published guidance on evidencing AI product claims; the pharmacists’ body insisted accountability stays with the professional. Here the concern is a consumer who does not know which side of the regulatory line they are standing on.
For UK financial services firms deploying AI in customer-facing journeys, the finding is a direct warning. If half your younger customers already misread what protection they have, any interface blurring the boundary between information and advice carries more risk than the underlying model does. The disclosure wording is now doing real work.