The Financial Conduct Authority published research on 27 August 2026 showing that 44% of young UK investors wrongly believe AI-generated financial information is regulated, even as more of them said they trust AI tools than trust television, the press or social media influencers.
The research surveyed 666 UK adults aged 18 to 40 who own or are considering investments, conducted for the FCA by the platform Attest on 24 July 2026. It found 56% trust AI tools, ahead of TV and radio (47%), the press (46%) and social media influencers (29%). Four in five respondents had used AI for help with investing, two-thirds occasionally or regularly, and two-thirds expect to lean on it more over the next year.
Where the trust and the rules diverge
Alongside the trust figures, the research found gaps in understanding of what protection actually applies. 44% of respondents mistakenly believe AI-generated financial information is regulated. 38% believe it is fine to make an investment decision based solely on AI outputs. 32% wrongly think they would be entitled to compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service if AI-generated advice went wrong.
General-purpose AI chatbots aren’t regulated by the FCA, though a tool specifically set up to provide financial advice would likely fall within its remit, the regulator said. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme protects customers when authorised financial firms fail, and the Financial Ombudsman Service investigates complaints against financial businesses; neither exists to cover output from an unregulated chatbot.
“AI can help you research companies, understand jargon or explore options before you make a decision,” said Lucy Castledine, director of consumer investments at the FCA. “But you need to understand how you’re protected and continue to use your own judgement.”
The research did find some awareness of AI’s limits: 73% of respondents knew AI can provide inaccurate information, and 86% understood the need to check the sources it cites.
A disclosure problem for firms using AI
The finding creates a specific problem for firms deploying AI in financial services, according to Charlotte Hill, a partner at the law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman UK LLP who advises fintech and financial services firms on UK regulation, including AI.
“The FCA’s findings highlight an important disconnect between consumers’ growing confidence in using AI and their understanding of the regulatory protections that apply to it. AI can be an extremely useful tool for investors: it can help explain unfamiliar terminology, analyse information and make complex markets more accessible. The concern is not the use of AI itself, but the assumption that an AI-generated answer necessarily comes with the same regulatory safeguards as advice from an authorised firm.”
The FCA’s own notes accompanying the research draw the same line: a chatbot that can “respond to a variety of prompts and topics” but isn’t “set up to help consumers with financial advice, research, or decision making” sits outside its remit, while a tool built specifically for that purpose would likely sit inside it. Firms embedding AI features into investing apps and portfolio tools will need to work out for themselves which side of that line they sit on, rather than wait for a regulator to tell them.
The FCA hasn’t said whether the findings will lead to new guidance on how firms should describe or label AI-powered investment tools, or whether the regulatory perimeter itself needs redrawing as general-purpose AI increasingly gets used for investment decisions it wasn’t built to make.
