![\"image.png\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cointelegraph:7afcc1120094b-e92defbd08e9aa8baf57ef244c7765b5-resized.webp.webp\")
<\/p>\nAustralia\u2019s financial regulator has urged young investors not to rely on social media influencers and artificial intelligence chatbots to make financial decisions, according to a study that also found that one in four \u201cGen Zs\u201d invest in crypto.<\/p>\n
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) posted the results of a survey on Sunday, finding that Gen Z has high levels of trust in \u201coften unreliable sources,\u201d which has contributed to riskier financial decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoneysmart\u2019s Gen Z study found that while Gen Z has a strong appetite for reputable and trustworthy financial content, many struggle to find it \u2013 and their search often leads them to sources designed for engagement rather than accuracy,\u201d said ASIC.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ASIC took action against influencers over their financial social media content last year in June, issuing warning notices to 18 influencers \u201csuspected of unlawfully promoting high-risk financial products and providing unlicensed financial advice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The latest survey, conducted between Nov. 28 and Dec. 10 last year with 1,127 respondents between 18 and 28, found that 63% of the group uses social media for financial information and guidance, while 18% use artificial intelligence (AI) platforms and 30% said they use YouTube specifically.<\/p>\n
It also found that 56% of Gen Z say they \u201csomewhat or completely trust\u201d financial information on social media, with 52% saying the same of \u201cfinfluencers\u201d \u2014 social media influencers primarily covering financial or investment niches who appear well-versed in finance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
AI, however, was the most trustworthy among Zoomers, at 64%.<\/p>\n
ASIC calls for caution on crypto influencers<\/p>\n
The survey also showed that 23% of Gen Z now own crypto in Australia, with 29% of these trading based on social media and influencer content, prompting a warning that influencers may \u201cset unrealistic expectations\u201d about investment returns, market volatility, and the intricacies of long-term investing.\u200b<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u200bSpeaking with the Australian Financial Review (AFR) on Sunday, ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland said the regulator has been keeping an eye on marketing activity designed to drive people to make investments, noting some of them are scams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re conscious that there\u2019s a lot of marketing activity on social media to encourage crypto investment, and our work has shown some that is actually encouraging people to invest in scams,\u201d Kirkland said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really important for people to be aware of those risks, because you don\u2019t see that same volatility in other types of investments and often that volatility is driven by forces that it\u2019s impossible for an individual sitting in Australia to understand,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Kirkland also flagged Australian superannuation funds \u2014 a $4.5 trillion market made of retirement funds \u2014 as an area in which unqualified influencers are offering advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see it most where people are lured in through social media ads and then encouraged to switch their super, because super is often people\u2019s most valuable asset, and that\u2019s why disreputable people often target it and why it can be so tragic if people are encouraged to put it into a risky investment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
ASIC has AI financial advice in its crosshairs <\/p>\n
Kirkland also told the AFR that ASIC is \u201cwatching very closely\u201d what types of financial information are being derived from AI tools. The commissioner warned that licenses are required for anything that gives out information representing concrete financial recommendations. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is clear under Australian law that if any entity is giving financial advice, they need to be licensed. So if an AI tool, whoever\u2019s providing it, is actually making recommendations about individual financial products, taking into account individual circumstances, that would be personal advice, so it needs to be licensed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
ASIC\u2019s concerns come amid a number of crypto exchanges that have already integrated AI bots into their services to offer personalized trading guidance or \u201ctrading partners\u201d, including the likes of MEXC, KuCoin and Bitget.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the most surprising findings from this research was the degree of trust young people are placing in AI platforms,\u201d he said, adding:<\/p>\n
\u201cDepends very much on the nature of the questions you\u2019re asking, how specific those questions are and the quality of the sources that AI is able to draw upon in order to serve us the results.\u201d<\/p>\n
AI financial information is not the only area ASIC is eyeing this year. In late January, the regulator warned that any crypto or AI firms exploiting licensing gray areas around payments in Australia will be one of its top priorities in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s financial regulator has urged young investors not to rely on social media influencers and artificial intelligence chatbots…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[72,113,61,60],"class_list":["post-348656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}