Consumers warming to AI in financial services, research shows

Consumer sentiment towards AI is warming, according to Smart Communications research, presenting opportunities for brokerages wishing to simplify the loan application process for customers.

Tech group Smart Communications’ research found that many consumers are ready for AI to improve their experiences in financial services, with 46 per cent of those surveyed in Australia and New Zealand saying AI would be valuable if used to offer personalised financial advice.

Smart Communications’ 2025 Global B2C Benchmark Report, which surveyed 3,000 consumers, showed consumer confidence in AI is relatively strong, with less than half of all respondents expressing hesitation over AI handling data securely (39 per cent in Australia) or ethically (39 per cent in Australia).

However, growing comfort and trust do not mean increased confidence in quality.

Over half (51 per cent) of Australian consumers said humans should always check content suggested by generative AI, while just 15 per cent thought generative AI was better than humans at creating customer communications content.

Data input ‘silent killer’ for customers

Brokers are already capitalising on the benefits that AI can bring and are using it to cut loan application times and strengthen cyber protections.

AI can also change the manual, time-consuming task of collecting data into a quicker, more efficient process.

That could prove popular with mortgage clients – 65 per cent of consumers are likely to end an interaction with a financial services company if the data intake process is too difficult, according to Smart Communications.

The tech group described data intake as a “silent killer for customer experience”, particularly among younger customers.

To fix the problem, organisations should focus on speed and simplicity, Smart Communications added, which was ranked by 90 per cent of consumers as their priority when completing a form.

Commenting on the change in consumer perceptions, Leigh Segall, Smart Communications CEO, said: “The data is clear: consumers are ready to see what AI can do.

“Organisations have an opportunity to use this groundbreaking technology to create outstanding customer experiences that exceed consumer expectations.”

[Related: AI is the future of broking, but there’s a catch]