Indian Investors Lead Global AI Adoption, But Human Advisers Still Make The Final Call: Survey

Indian investors are leading the world in how they use artificial intelligence (AI), with AI tools now being used as part of their daily decision-making processes around finances and investments. According to a new HSBC-IPSOS survey of affluent and high-net-worth investors (HNWI), Indian investors are adopting AI more than any other market surveyed for research, strategy support, and sense-checking their ideas - making India the leading global market for using AI when it comes to finance and investments. While investors continue to rely on human expertise, they are tapping into AI tools as one of the weapons in their arsenal to help them make informed decisions.

The HSBC Private Banking and Ipsos survey, which included approximately 10,000 affluent and high-net-worth investors across 10 markets and 1,115 respondents from India, discovered that when it comes to finance and investments, Indian investors are using AI as part of their everyday lives. 86 per cent of Indians surveyed use AI when it comes to their finances and investments, making AI the number one category. Indian investors use AI in their everyday lives. This is also significantly higher than the rest of the world; the global average is 73 per cent

In India, the three most popular uses for AI by investors when it came to finances and investments were:

· Helping with analysis and research – 80 per cent
· Helping with their investment strategy – 70 per cent
· To sense-check their thinking and get a second opinion – 32 per cent

As a result, AI technology is helping Indian investors have more confidence when speaking to their financial adviser (36 per cent), helps them better compare their investment options (32 per cent) and understand market trends and economic data (32 per cent)

The AI Trust Threshold: Where Exploration Ends And Expertise Begins

While investors in India lead the world in AI adoption, they still rely heavily on professional advice. Financial professionals are investors’ primary source of investment ideas (67 per cent) and top influencer in final investment decisions (31 per cent), twice as likely to lead AI tools (15 per cent). This reliance on advisers extends to very human skills like providing emotional reassurance (89 per cent) and strategic know-how (78 per cent).

However, when asked about their ideal decision-making process going forward, a hybrid model of decision-making tops the list with more than half of respondents (51 per cent) saying they want to use both AI tools and a human adviser. This encompasses investors who use AI to identify investment options and then want a human adviser to double check before they act (33 per cent), as well as those who want their adviser to deploy AI tools on their behalf (18 per cent).

Speaking about the findings, Sandeep Batra, Head, International Wealth and Premier Banking, HSBC India said, “Indian investors are adopting AI faster than any other country in the world by using AI tools to help them see new options and confirm decisions. Interestingly, even though usage is high, we see AI’s impact over investment ideas generation and decision-making hasn’t caught up with that of professional advisers. The research shows that AI is not replacing the advice investors get from their financial professionals but instead is helping investors raise the bar on their decision-making process. The future is one where technology and humans work in partnership. We expect to see AI helping investors analyse more quickly and financial professionals contributing judgement, context and accountability at critical moments.”

AI Builds Confidence - Advisers Provide Conviction

AI is also affecting investors’ behaviour and wellbeing. When asked how artificial intelligence makes them feel about their investments, 53 per cent say more in control vs. 31 per cent who say less in control. When it comes to risk tolerance, Indian investors are also most likely to say AI makes them more willing to take calculated risks (64 per cent), positioning them as the most bullish investors globally (average 49 per cent). 

Beyond investing, Indians are leading in using AI to positively impact other areas of their lives. 77 per cent say they have seen an improved quality of life because of artificial intelligence and 40 per cent say they use AI to help pursue new career paths or business ideas, making AI the leading driver of career ambition when it comes to financial decisions.