AI agents for financial advisors

People visit a financial advisor's website to answer two questions before they ever book a call: can I trust this firm, and is it right for someone like me? They look for how you are paid, whether you have a minimum, who you usually work with and what the first meeting is like. An AI agent can answer those from your own pages at any hour and book the introductory call. What it must not do is the thing visitors sometimes ask for outright: tell them what to do with their money.

Who visits a financial advisor's website

• Pre-retirees and retirees. Income planning, Social Security timing, rollovers, whether you are a fiduciary and how you charge.
• Business owners. Planning a sale, retirement plans for employees, the gap between business wealth and personal plans.
• People after a life event. An inheritance, a divorce, a new job with equity compensation.
• Comparison shoppers. They have your Form CRS open in another tab and want plain answers about fees and conflicts.
• Existing clients. Looking for the portal, a document or their adviser's direct line.

Which ASDK agents fit an advisory firm

ASDK is in early access. Chat, Sales and Agent-Ready are early-access agents, and all three answer from one knowledge base built from your website.

Chat: fees, services and process (early access)

Example flow: "Do you charge a percentage of assets, and is there a minimum?" Chat answers from your fees page, links it, and links your Form CRS, which the Form CRS instructions require firms with retail investors to post prominently on their public website. When the visitor follows up with "so would you put me in index funds?", Chat explains that recommendations come only after a planning conversation and offers to book one.

Sales: an introductory call with the right adviser (early access)

Example flow: a business owner on your exit-planning page asks whether you can help before a sale next year. Sales confirms from your services page that you do, then asks only what routing needs: their situation, timeline, location and, if you publish a minimum, whether they are in that range. It offers times with the adviser who leads business-owner clients through Cal.com, Calendly or Google Calendar, and the summary goes to your team, and to your CRM through webhooks and Zapier or Make, so the adviser starts the call informed. Sales is included from the Pro plan.

Agent-Ready: readable for AI assistants (early access)

Agent-Ready hosts an llms.txt file that tells AI systems who you serve, how you charge, where you are registered and how to book a call.

Guardrails for advisory firms

No individualized advice in chat. "Should I roll my 401(k) into an IRA?" and "Is now a good time to buy bonds?" get the same treatment: the agent describes the service you offer for that decision and offers a call. No market predictions and no product suggestions. For broker-dealers, FINRA notes that Regulation Best Interest applies if AI is used to recommend securities to a retail customer (FINRA FAQ B.4).

A chat is a communication, and you own it. FINRA's guidance says chatbot communications may count as correspondence, retail or institutional communications depending on who receives them, that the firm must supervise them, and that firms are responsible for their communications whether a person or AI generated them. Regulatory Notice 24-09 adds that FINRA's rules are technology neutral and apply to generative AI tools, including vendor tools. Write the agent's instructions as you would any template your compliance team approves.

Keep performance and testimonials out of the conversation. The SEC Marketing Rule sets conditions for testimonials, endorsements and performance presentations; for example, any gross performance must be accompanied by net performance (SEC marketing FAQ). If performance or testimonials appear on your site, instruct the agent to link those pages, where the disclosures sit, rather than repeat the numbers.

Plan for records. SEC Rule 204-2 requires advisers to keep certain books and records, including written communications relating to advice and recommendations. Ask any chat vendor, ASDK included, how transcripts are stored, how long they are kept and how you can export them to your archive, and agree with your compliance officer which conversations must be kept.

No account data in chat. Account numbers, balances, Social Security numbers and transfer instructions belong in your client portal or secure forms. The greeting should say so, and existing clients should be routed to their adviser.

Say it is AI. ASDK always tells visitors they are talking to an AI, and a handoff to your team is one step away.

How AI assistants research financial advisors

A prospect may ask an assistant for "a fee-only planner near Denver who works with small business owners and has no minimum". The assistant can only match you on what your site states plainly; see how AI assistants decide what to say about your company. Make these explicit, as text:

• Who you serve: professions, life stages, business owners, and who you are not a fit for.
• How you are paid: asset-based, flat or hourly fees, and any commissions.
• Minimums, if any, and services included at each level.
• Registration status, your advisers' credentials, and links to Form CRS and Form ADV.
• Custodian, office locations and whether you meet clients virtually.

Structured data for the firm and its offices helps assistants read these facts, as long as it matches the visible text. The free Agent Readiness Checker shows what AI agents read on your site today, and Agent-Ready keeps llms.txt current.

Where to start

Draft the agent's instructions with your chief compliance officer: no advice, no performance, no testimonials, links to Form CRS, and where transcripts go. Start Chat on your fees, services and "who we work with" pages, then add Sales for the introductory call. Pricing shows which plan includes each agent.