Financial services must ‘zag towards human connection’ as eight in 10 consumers embrace AI
17 September 2026
The rapid adoption of AI by consumers and financial services firms is making access to accurate, independently verified data increasingly critical, delegates were told at Defaqto’s 2026 Conference, The Data of Record, yesterday (16th September).
Opening the conference, Defaqto Interim CEO Mike Piddock said AI is increasingly shaping the future of financial services, from how firms operate to its impact on customers and the decisions they make.
However, he stressed that greater reliance on technology also increases the importance of the quality of the information underpinning it. Firms need confidence in where data has come from, how it has been structured and independently checked, and whether it provides a sufficiently broad view of the market.
New independent consumer research from Defaqto, carried out by Savanta, demonstrated how quickly AI is becoming part of consumer decision-making. Eight in 10 consumers are using an AI assistant at least three times a week, while six in 10 use it to help make decisions.
Within financial services, more people are using AI-powered tools than going directly to a provider or speaking with a financial adviser as a source consumers use when making decisions. However, trust has not kept pace. One in five actively distrust AI tools when choosing a financial product, while nearly one in five have acted, or almost acted, on AI guidance that subsequently turned out to be wrong.
The research also found that 62% of consumers feel they do not have enough information to judge whether AI guidance is accurate. Director at Savanta, Alex Ward-Booth, compared the challenge to the California Gold Rush, where success depended on being able to distinguish real gold from “fool’s gold”.
Keynote speaker Emma Boardwell, founder of Emotional Finance, argued that firms will need to “zig towards speed, efficiency, automation and AI in order to compete” while also “zag towards human connection in order to differentiate and matter.”
Across the conference, speakers explored how AI is changing customer buying journeys, how incomplete or outdated information can affect its outputs, and the role independently verified data can play in supporting better decisions.
Defaqto also previewed changes to its Star Ratings for 2027 across home, motor, pet and travel insurance, alongside plans to increase consumer awareness and understanding of the independent, expert-led research behind its ratings.
As AI becomes embedded in more financial decisions, the conference highlighted that trusted, comprehensive and independently verified data will become more, rather than less, important.
