I must be 50,000 words into writing articles, blueprints, checklists, diagnostics, frameworks, guides, playbooks, and worksheets for a new website that is nearing completion. Writing the website provides as much value to me as to the clients I serve, because writing gives me the opportunity to practice awareness — to write and breathe from the heart. Otherwise, my mind is no different from any other mind, and it’s easy to get pulled into the rabbit hole of overwhelm, where fear-based thoughts live.
So writing — whether for the website or anything else I do — is my opportunity to breathe into present awareness and witness, rather than be consumed by fear-based thoughts.
Not long ago, my mind asked: If all of my clients have ChatGPT, then what do they need me for? And what do they need my website for?
I paused, because it wasn’t just about me — it was about the very clients I serve. Financial advisors and agency owners are wondering the same thing: If my clients can just ask ChatGPT about their retirement, tax strategies, or insurance needs, why would they hire me?
This blog is my way of unpacking that fear, using myself as the guinea pig. By working through it openly, I hope you’ll see that the arrival of AI doesn’t erase the need for human advisors — it actually elevates the importance of what you do.
Fear Meets Reality
When I had that thought, I realized my mind was trying to see AI as competition rather than as a tool. But here’s the reality:
ChatGPT can provide information.
Advisors provide transformation.
Your clients don’t pay you because you have access to information. If that were true, Google would have replaced advisors years ago. They pay you because you know how to take information, filter it through their unique goals, values, fears, and blind spots, and then hold them accountable for action.
That’s not information. That’s leadership.
Why Clients Still Need You
Let’s use my own business as an example and then apply the parallel to financial advising.
1. Context and Judgment
ChatGPT can give me ideas for strategy, but it can’t evaluate my specific client’s awareness, behaviors, values, unmet needs, or business and family dynamics. Likewise, depending on what side of the border you’re on, ChatGPT can outline a Roth IRA vs. TFSA vs. RRSP, but it can’t integrate that into a client’s entire life story.
What clients really buy from you is your judgment.
2. Accountability
ChatGPT doesn’t follow up with me when I don’t do what I said I’d do. It doesn’t challenge me when I procrastinate because of fear. It doesn’t notice my tone of voice or my body language. Advisors do. And that accountability is priceless.
3. Emotional Navigation
AI can explain what a bear market is. But it can’t walk a nervous couple through the emotions of seeing their portfolio dip 15% and remind them of the bigger vision. That’s where you become not just an advisor but a guide.
4. Trust and Relationship
No matter how sophisticated ChatGPT becomes, it will never build a relationship of trust where a client feels safe enough to admit, “I’m scared,” “I don’t understand,” or “I’ve made a mistake.” That human trust is the foundation of everything in financial services.
Reframing the Role of AI
Instead of seeing ChatGPT as competition, I see it as a force multiplier. Here’s how I use it:
- To generate ideas quickly.
- To automate repetitive tasks.
- To provide a baseline so I can focus on higher-value work.
The same is true for advisors. Imagine:
- Using AI to summarize complex documents for clients.
- Drafting communication pieces in half the time.
- Running scenarios that once took hours, freeing you to spend time in the conversation rather than the calculation.
AI doesn’t replace your value. It clears the clutter so you can amplify it.
A Story We All Know
Think back to when calculators arrived. Teachers feared students would never learn math. But calculators didn’t destroy mathematics — they made it easier to practice higher-level problem solving.
Or when robo-advisors hit the market, everyone predicted the end of human advice. Yet research shows that while robo platforms grew, the demand for financial advisors remained strong. Why? Because people don’t just want algorithms. They want relationships.
AI is simply the next version of this pattern. It changes the tools — not the need for human guidance.
From Fear to Advantage
When I reframed my own fear about being replaced by ChatGPT, I saw a new path forward:
- My website isn’t about replacing me. It’s about giving clients and prospects access to resources that reinforce my value and credibility.
- My AI-powered tools aren’t a threat. They’re a way to scale my frameworks so clients get more support, faster.
- My real value is in seeing the whole picture, calling out blind spots, and holding people accountable — none of which AI can do.
And this is exactly the same reframe for you as a financial advisor.
What This Means for You
If you’re an advisor worried about AI, here’s what I’d suggest:
- Acknowledge the fear. It’s real. Don’t push it away.
- Reframe AI as a tool. Ask: How can this make me more valuable?
- Lean deeper into your irreplaceable value:
- Contextual judgment
- Accountability
- Emotional navigation
- Trust-based relationship
- Communicate that value to clients. Don’t assume they know it — tell them.
Final Thought
When my mind asked, If all of my clients have ChatGPT, then what do they need me for? my mind realized the answer was simple:
They need me for what AI can never do — help them see themselves clearly, commit to their vision, and stay the course.
And that’s exactly why your clients still need you.
Invitation
If you’re a financial advisor or agency owner wrestling with these same fears, you’re not alone. The good news is, AI isn’t here to replace you — it’s here to sharpen your edge.
If you’d like to explore how to position yourself as irreplaceable in the age of AI, let’s talk. Schedule a complimentary conversation here: https://leadingadvisor.as.me/callwithsimonreilly.
Together, we’ll transform your fear into a strategic advantage.
International Values and Behavioral Analyst, Business Coach, Speaker and Author
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