Advisors want more client time. Is AI actually giving it to them?

A Vanguard and Escalent Cogent Beat Advisor survey of 549 advisors finds a clear mismatch between what advisors want and how they currently use AI. Seventy-two percent say they most want more time with prospective and current clients, yet their primary AI use cases remain administrative: drafting emails (38%), conducting research (35%) and taking meeting notes (27%).

Why saved minutes aren't automatically client time

Those hurdles help explain why initial AI savings often stop at convenience. As Ric Edelman noted in a column cited by the article, a tool that saves 45 minutes after a client meeting is only useful to the firm if that time is redeployed into client-facing or growth activities — otherwise it won't affect the firm's P&L.

Paths firms are testing to translate time savings

Regulatory readiness and governance. The SEC is still formalizing AI expectations. Firms are advised to draft written policies that define a "human in the loop" role for advisors overseeing AI outputs. That creates an audit trail and clarifies responsibilities before regulators ask for it.

Firmwide deployment and training. Vestmark's example in the article shows a different approach: give employees access to powerful AI tools plus training. After doing that, CEO Karl Roessner said the firm saw a 65% increase in productivity while it scaled to $50 billion in AUM. That demonstrates how coordinated rollout and skill development can push AI beyond the admin layer.

Productizing AI time savings. Firms and vendors are building tools for specific advisory workflows — for example, relocation planning assistance that reduces friction for clients and advisors during geographic moves. These targeted applications aim to convert routine automation into smoother client journeys and new revenue opportunities.

Create written AI policies that define oversight and acceptable use. Invest in training so advisors and staff can push tools beyond point solutions. Track how reclaimed time is spent and link it to measurable goals — new client meetings, prospecting calls, or capacity to serve more households. Evaluate firm-level deployments that bundle access, governance and skill building rather than ad hoc single-tool experiments.

AI is returning minutes and hours to advisors, but the survey shows most of that time is currently used to speed existing admin tasks. Converting those savings into more client time or revenue requires governance, coordinated deployment, training and explicit decisions about where reclaimed capacity will go.