One in five Albertans surveyed last month said they looked to artificial intelligence for financial advice \u2014 the highest rate compared to respondents in other Canadian provinces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The poll shows 21 per cent of respondents in Alberta used AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for financial guidance in the past year, compared to 15 per cent nationwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Money Mentors, an Alberta-based non-profit credit counselling agency, conducted the poll in conjunction with Angus Reid from May 19 to 21. It surveyed 1,501 Canadian adults, including 168 from Alberta.<\/p>\n
The poll also shows 21 per cent surveyed in Alberta said they used social media \u2014 including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or Reddit \u2014 for financial advice, compared to 16 per cent nationally.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The findings are posted in a report called Financial Advice in the Age of Social Media & AI, released Wednesday by Money Mentors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Going online for financial advice is a common practice across the country. The survey, which defines online as including AI, social media, websites and podcasts, said nearly one in three respondents \u2014 32 per cent \u2014 sought out digital sources of information.<\/p>\n
Albertans were even more likely to do so, with the survey finding that 41 per cent sought financial advice online in the past year, the highest rate in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
People listed several reasons for using online sources, said the report, including speed, convenience and ease of use.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another key motivation is that people believe they can get advice without feeling judged, the survey suggests. Of the Alberta respondents, 29 per cent cited that reason, compared to 23 per cent of all respondents nationally.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And 30 per cent of Alberta respondents said it feels more relatable, personal or easy to understand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Findings a concern<\/p>\n
Stacy Yanchuk Oleksy, CEO of Money Mentors, said the findings are concerning for a few reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat advice is not regulated,\u201d she said in an interview Tuesday. \u201cSo if it goes south \u2014 and it can go south \u2014 that consumer has no recourse whatsoever because they got the advice from AI.\u201d<\/p>\n
When people get advice from a certified financial planner, there’s some recourse because that’s a regulated industry, she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUse AI as a tool, but it’s just a tool. It’s not the whole thing,\u201d Yanchuk Oleksy said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
While some people use AI as a tool to learn about investment and financial literacy, some are seeking advice on how to alleviate debt.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s normal for people in Canada to feel shame around their debt and financial situation sometimes,\u201d Yanchuk Oleksy said, adding that turning to AI completely isn\u2019t the answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
People can use non-profit credit counselling services. These services are provided by professionals who are paid to serve Canadians, not to sell products, she said..<\/p>\n
She also said people risk identity theft if they upload their personal and financial information, like bank statements and accounts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Reasons that people use online sources for financial guidance include speed, convenience and ease of use. As well, people believe they can get advice without feeling judged, the survey suggests. (Kiichiro Sato\/The Associated Press)Pros and cons<\/p>\n
Chris Frei, a University of Alberta professor of mathematical finance and risk management, said both AI and social media may be easier for some people to use as a resource. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis may give people who would otherwise not have access to financial information a way for education and improving financial literacy,\u201d Frei said.<\/p>\n
Both also involve risk, as neither AI nor social media sites necessarily tailor the advice to someone\u2019s personal situation like tax or debt level, income and family obligations, Frei noted. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s not just about right or wrong, but it’s also about suitability or having something tailored,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause often it can be that one particular advice can be suitable for one person, but it can be totally unfit for another person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frei said AI chatbots should be used as a starting point to learn about financial subjects but stressed the need to consult experts. <\/p>\n
\u201cThen what’s still really important is critical thinking and judgment and taking additional information and other sources.\u201d<\/p>\n
The survey suggested that many Canadians want to educate themselves before meeting with a professional, which is why they are choosing digital methods first.<\/p>\n
Of the Alberta respondents, 49 per cent provided that as a reason, compared to 47 per cent of all survey respondents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dana DiTomaso, founder of Kick Point, an Edmonton-based digital marketing firm, said conversing with an AI chatbot is a useful starting point to learn more about financial literacy and basic budgeting.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
But,\u201cdo not take what AI tells you as gospel because it is not necessarily. Sometimes it’s right and sometimes it can be very wrong,\u201d DiTomaso said in an interview Tuesday with CBC News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
DiTomaso says AI feels like a trusted source because it is aggregating from the entire internet. However, that means it doesn\u2019t have a good sense of whether the advice is best for people living in Canada or in the U.S.<\/p>\n
For example, there investment tools in Canada, like Registered Retirement Savings Plans and TaxFree Savings Accounts, that don\u2019t exist in the U.S<\/p>\n
\u201cJust make sure that you’re asking AI, \u2018How confident are you in this answer? I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Does this advice apply to me?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
AI models can also be asked what are other sources to check, like websites and blogs, where people can get more information and further financial literacy, DiTomaso added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ideally, people should also talk to a professional who’s knowledgeable in financial matters, she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of the respondents in Alberta, 41 per cent said they still use a bank, credit union or licensed financial professional for advice, compared to\u00a0 44 per cent around the country. \t<\/p>\n
For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of approximately +\/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One in five Albertans surveyed last month said they looked to artificial intelligence for financial advice \u2014 the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[138,246,111,139,69,244,245],"class_list":["post-459569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}