Brokers were certainly engaged at the Regulation v Tech round table at MIT Live.

Asked whether AI (and Chat GPT) is and will continue to change the way consumers engage, the consensus around the table was ‘yes’ and not usually in a good way.

One adviser commented: “Even before you get to advising, they have been online. And often when you get to offer advice the customer tells you ‘you are right’!

Another said: “AI tells them what they (the customer) asked for rather than what they need.”

In terms of impact on workload one broker insisted: “Client plus AI is a lot more work for a broker right now than client without AI.”

Asked about FCA guidance and risk warnings, brokers were highly critical. “Consumer Duty provides guard rails but the guard rails have to change so quickly as the industry innovates. FCA guidance is already out of date and the risk warnings are already out of date.”

Brokers were asked whether risk warnings were adequate on AI tools available right now – the response was a resounding ‘no’. And the point was made that AMI is continuing to lobby for clearer risk disclosures. Brokers are hoping this comes sooner rather than later.