BMO survey shows Canadians, especially Gen Z, increasingly use AI for managing finances and investments
The BMO Real Financial Progress Index shows that a growing number of Canadians, especially Gen Z, are using artificial intelligence (AI) to manage their finances and investments.
About one-third of Canadians (33 percent) are using AI for financial management.
The most common uses include learning more about personal finance topics (45 percent), creating and/or updating household budgets (43 percent), identifying new investment strategies (42 percent), building savings (40 percent), and creating and/or updating their financial plans (40 percent).
Despite AI's benefits, more than two-thirds of Canadians (68 percent) believe AI cannot comprehend the emotional aspects of financial planning.
Gayle Ramsay, head of the Everyday Banking Segment & Customer Growth at BMO, stated, “AI is a transformative technology that can instantly analyze information and generate ideas, but people's relationship with money is complex, personal and emotional.”
“By making it easier to help manage finances, AI is proving a powerful tool to build financial literacy and make informed financial decisions, and together with guidance from a professional advisor, more Canadians can be empowered to conveniently manage their money, achieve their goals and make real financial progress.”
The survey highlights several ways AI is shaping how Canadians learn, work, and communicate. Over half (54 percent) use AI to ask questions about topics of interest, and nearly 4 out of 10 (37 percent) use it for data analysis.
More than a third (36 percent) leverage AI to build business, travel, exercise, and meal plans and manage their schedules. Additionally, many Canadians use AI in their creative processes, including developing written drafts (41 percent) and editing photos and/or videos (39 percent).
A significant portion believes AI can help people make more informed financial decisions (52 percent) and make financial planning more accessible (51 percent).
Those not currently using AI for personal financial management are considering it for various purposes, such as learning more about personal finance topics (30 percent), increasing savings (28 percent), finding new investment strategies (27 percent), creating, and/or updating household budgets (27 percent), updating financial plans (25 percent), and retirement planning (22 percent).
Gen Z Canadians, more than any other generation, are using AI to plan for upcoming financial milestones, with over half (55 percent) leveraging AI for this purpose.
They are also the most likely to use AI to ask questions about topics of interest (79 percent), create written drafts (72 percent), build business, travel, exercise, and meal plans (63 percent), and manage their finances and investments (55 percent).
The adoption of AI tools aligns with Gen Z's ongoing life changes and their growing financial concerns. Over the past six months, 24 percent attended university or college, 20 percent switched jobs, 15 percent made a large purchase such as a car or home, and 13 percent started a business.
However, 91 percent of Gen Z report that concerns about their overall financial situation are their leading source of financial anxiety, followed by fear of unknown expenses (90 percent), housing costs (86 percent), and keeping up with monthly bills (82 percent).
A significant portion of Gen Z (61 percent) believes AI can help make more informed financial decisions, and over half (53 percent) are confident that AI tools can help them make real financial progress.
Among Canadians, 85 percent believe they are making real financial progress. Of these, 78 percent are confident in their financial situation, and 44 percent think AI-powered tools can help them achieve this progress.
