AI usage is high among UK HNWIs – and intensifies with wealth
According to new MillionaireVue data1, more than nine in ten UK HNWIs now report using AI tools, with three in five typically using them every day. Among the general population, that would be notable – but among those who can easily afford to pay someone to draft that email, book that travel or research that fund, it is striking.
And the wealthier they are, the more often they use it. Daily usage stands at 54% among HNWIs with £1–2m of investable assets, climbs to 70% in the £5–10m band, and reaches 81% among those with £10m or more. The £10m+ group is using AI more broadly too, embedding it across more of their lives – using it not only for learning and research but as a personal assistant for tasks such as writing emails, planning schedules, and weighing in on financial or personal decisions.
The very wealthiest AI adopters are also the most likely to be increasing their usage: nine in ten HNWIs with £5m+ in investable assets say they use AI-powered tools more than they did a year ago, compared with four in five of those with £1–2m. The likeliest driver is not cost. This group is time-poor and already comfortable with technology – and seems to see AI less as a way to replace human help than as another highly flexible productivity tool.
But AI adoption is rising faster than trust among the UK’s wealthiest
There is, however, a note of caution: the UK’s wealthy may well be adopting AI faster than they trust it. MillionaireVue data shows that some are already using it for sensitive questions and decisions, despite reservations about its reliability.
More than four in five of our high-net-worth AI users report using the technology more than they did a year ago, most often to learn about unfamiliar topics. Yet more than a third worry about incorrect answers, and 28% deem AI highly risky for financial or legal decisions – even as two in five already use it to support those decisions.
Concern is likely driven by exposure and familiarity
Trust in AI outputs follow a more complex pattern than adoption. Concern is lowest in the middle of the wealth distribution: just 17% of those in the £5-10m bracket worry about misleading or incorrect answers, making this band a genuine sweet spot of high adoption and low unease.
At either end of the wealth scale, concern rises again – but for the £10m+ group, that caution sits alongside the fastest growth in AI use. Around three in ten of those with £1–2m of investable assets worry about using AI for financial or legal decisions, as do a similar proportion of those with £10m+.
The drivers behind this pattern are likely different at each end of the investable asset scale. For the £10m+ group, heavier and broader use likely means more exposure: putting AI to work across more decisions creates more chances for something to go wrong – and more at stake if it does.
Those with lower levels of investable assets skew older and are thus more likely to be retired. Their lower trust in AI’s accuracy may stem from less experience of using it – and in turn, less familiarity with it as a technology.
So what’s next for advisors?
Adapting to new AI habits and novel information ecosystems is a pressing challenge for the wealth management industry. AI is already widespread among HNWI clients, so advisors will need to keep pace – both by helping clients navigate the technology today and by adapting their own skills and offerings as its role grows.
- In the short term: Advisors may be able to fill a growing need among HNWIs for reassurance around AI safety and guidance on how best to use it. Which tasks can AI be trusted with? Where should clients exercise caution, or put strong guardrails in place to address their concerns?
- In the medium term: Advisors should look to upskill and become even better at using AI as a force multiplier than their HNWI clients. They can only lead from a position of knowledge, and will need to keep upskilling to remain relevant.
- In the long term: Advisors will need to adapt their offerings around the areas and tasks that wealthy clients are increasingly likely to use AI for. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in their lives, advisors will need to adapt around it and focus on where human expertise continues to add value.
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1 Savanta Millionaire Vue, Q2 2026 — 511 UK adults holding £1m+ in investable assets.