Customers Now Trust AI for Stock Picks and Savings Advice: McKinsey Report

Banks across the world are facing mounting pressure to adapt quickly as consumers increasingly use artificial intelligence tools for financial decisions, according to a new report by McKinsey & Company.

The report highlighted that generative AI and agentic AI are being adopted at a much faster pace than previous technological shifts such as the internet, mobile technology and big data. While older technologies generally took between five and ten years to evolve from simple to complex applications, agentic AI is expected to make the same transition within just two to three years.

According to the report, this compressed adoption cycle is reducing the time banks traditionally had to respond to technological disruption.

Consumers Are Already Using AI for Banking Decisions

The report stated that consumers are no longer using AI only for basic research or simple queries. Instead, they are increasingly relying on AI tools for complex financial activities.

It stated, “In banking, customers are already using gen AI and agentic AI for a myriad of tasks. Claude is outperforming professional stock pickers”.

Consumers are now using AI platforms to identify higher-yield savings accounts, refinance or consolidate debt into lower-cost options, manage credit card repayments more efficiently, compare financial products and obtain instant low-cost financial advice.

The report suggested that AI tools are rapidly becoming an alternative source of financial expertise for ordinary consumers.

Banks May Not Get a ‘Grace Period’

McKinsey warned that banks may not benefit from the long adjustment periods that existed during earlier waves of technological change because customers are already integrating AI into their everyday financial behaviour.

The report noted that tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT have seen exceptionally rapid adoption since their launch. ChatGPT, introduced in November 2022, witnessed sharp growth among working-age adults in the United States.

According to the report, nearly 45 per cent of working-age adults in the US were using generative AI by 2024. That figure rose further to 55 per cent in 2025.

AI Adoption Is Widespread Across Generations

Unlike earlier technologies, where younger users often adopted new tools much faster than older age groups, generative AI adoption appears far more evenly spread across generations.

The report found that usage stood at 63 per cent among Millennials, 61 per cent among Gen Z users and 53 per cent among Gen X users.

This relatively narrow gap indicates that AI adoption is becoming mainstream across a broad consumer base rather than remaining concentrated among younger digital-native users.

Consumers Increasingly Trust AI Systems

Another major shift identified in the report is the growing trust consumers place in AI-generated outputs.

According to McKinsey, around 77 per cent of respondents said they trusted generative AI for simple research tasks, while 69 per cent said they trusted AI even for complex advice.

The report said this growing confidence in AI systems, combined with rapid adoption and expanding use cases, is creating significant urgency for banks to redesign products, services and customer engagement strategies.

McKinsey said the combination of rapid adoption, rising trust levels and increasing use of AI for complex financial decisions is creating urgency for banks to adapt their products, services and customer engagement models quickly.

(With inputs from ANI)