- 55% of Gen Z use AI to help manage their finances and
investments – more than any other generation.
- 68% do not believe AI understands how emotions influence
financial planning.
TORONTO, July 29,
2024 /CNW/ - The BMO Real Financial Progress Index
reveals a growing number of Canadians, notably Gen Z, are using
artificial intelligence (AI) to help manage their finances and
investments.
Among the 33% of Canadians using AI to help manage their
finances, the most common uses include:
- Learning more about personal finance topics (45%),
- Creating and/or updating household budgets (43%),
- Identifying new investment strategies (42%),
- Building savings (40%), and
- Creating and/or updating their financial plans (40%).
While AI is helping Canadians manage some aspects of finances,
over two thirds (68%) say AI cannot understand how emotions
influence financial planning.
"AI is a transformative technology that can instantly analyze
information and generate ideas, but people's relationship with
money is complex, personal and emotional," said Gayle Ramsay, Head, Everyday
Banking Segment & Customer Growth, BMO. "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."
How Canadians Are Using AI
The survey highlights how AI is continuing to shape how
Canadians learn, work, and communicate, including:
- Reshaping Research: More than half (54%) are using AI to
ask questions about topics of interest and 37% are using the
technology for data analysis.
- Productivity Planning: Over a third are leveraging AI to
build business, travel, exercise and meal plans (36%) and manage
their schedules (36%).
- Changing Content Creation: Many Canadians are using AI
in their creative process including developing written drafts (41%)
and photo and/or video editing (39%)
- Accessible Intelligence: More than half believe AI can
help people make more informed financial decisions (52%) and makes
financial planning more accessible for everyone (51%).
- Optimistic Outlook: Many of those who do not currently
use it for personal financial management are considering using the
technology to learn more about personal finance topics (30%),
increase their savings (28%), find new investment strategies (27%),
create and/or update their household budgets (27%) and financial
plans (25%), and for retirement planning (22%).
The AI Generation Gap
As Gen Z Canadians begin navigating life changes, over half
(55%) are leveraging AI to plan for upcoming financial milestones –
more than any generation. Gen Z are the most likely to use AI to
ask questions about topics of interest (79%), create written drafts
(72%), build business, travel, exercise and/or meal plans (63%),
and manage their finances and investments (55%).
The increased adoption of AI-powered tools coincides with Gen
Z's ongoing life changes and their growing concerns about their
finances. In the last six months, 24% of Gen Z attended university
or college, 20% switched jobs, 15% needed to make a large purchase
such as a car, home, etc., and 13% started a business. However, 91%
of Gen Z say concerns about their overall financial situation is
the leading source of financial anxiety, followed by fear of
unknown expenses (90%), housing costs (86%), and keeping up with
monthly bills (82%).
61% of Gen Z believe AI can help people make more informed
financial decisions and 53% are confident AI tools can help them
make real financial progress.
Making Real Financial Progress with BMO's Digital
Tools
Among the 85% of Canadians who believe they are making real
financial progress, 78% are confident in their financial situation
and 44% believe AI-powered tools can help them make real financial
progress.
BMO CashTrack is an award-winning solution that leverages
AI and machine learning models to provide customers with financial
insights to intelligently and accurately predict cash shortfalls up
to seven days in advance across a customer's accounts.
The solution is among the many features fully integrated into
BMO's wider personal financial management solution, BMO
Insights. Customers can get help saving more, monitoring spending
and account values, and spotting unusual activity with 25 BMO
Insights that provide customers free, quick, and personalized views
of their daily spending to help them make informed decisions.
Customers can also build financial literacy, monitor financial
plans, and reach financial goals through BMO's innovative digital
tools and resources:
- BMO SmartProgress: This tool helps customers
learn more about important personal finance topics and build
financial literacy anywhere and at any time. It is a free, online
financial education platform featuring customized, interactive
content, including videos and tools, on complex financial planning
topics including budgeting and credit management, homeownership and
investing.
- BMO CreditView: Customers can quickly and easily
check their credit scores and access new tools and advice to manage
their credit profile online and on mobile.
- BMO Savings Amplifier Account: To help make saving easy
and automatic, BMO's new Savings Amplifier Account offers no
monthly fees, a competitive interest rate, and unlimited no-fee
transfers to other BMO accounts. In addition, its digital Savings
Goals feature enables customers to set, track, and manage their
financial goals.
To learn more about how BMO can help customers make financial
progress, visit www.bmo.com/main/personal.
About the BMO Real Financial Progress Index
Launched in February 2021, the BMO Real Financial Progress
Index is an indicator of how consumers feel about their personal
finances and whether they are making financial progress. The index
aims to spark dialogue that will help consumers reach their
financial goals and to humanize a topic that causes anxiety for
many – money.
The research detailed in this document was conducted by Ipsos
in Canada from June 3rd to
20th, 2024. A sample of n=2,500 adults ages 18+
in Canada were collected via the Ipsos panel. Quotas and
weighting were used to ensure the sample's composition reflects
that of the Canadian population according to census parameters.
This survey has a credibility interval of +/- 2.4 per cent 19 times out of 20, of what the results
would have been had all Canadian adults 18+ been surveyed.
About BMO Financial Group
BMO Financial Group is the eighth largest bank in North America by assets, with total assets of
$1.4 trillion as of April 30, 2024. Serving customers for 200 years
and counting, BMO is a diverse team of highly engaged employees
providing a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth
management, global markets and investment banking products and
services to 13 million customers across Canada, the United
States, and in select markets globally. Driven by a single
purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO
is committed to driving positive change in the world, and making
progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future, and inclusive
society.
SOURCE BMO Financial Group