Majority of Americans Expect to Use a Robo Adviser

Fifty-eight percent of Americans expect to use a robo adviser by 2025, Charles Schwab learned in a survey, summarized in its report, “The Rise of the Robo: Americans’ Perspectives and Predictions on the Use of Digital Advice.” In addition, 45% say robo advice will be the technology that will have the biggest impact on financial services.

In addition, by the year 2025, 57% expect to use robotics, 55% artificial intelligence, 54% virtual reality, 53% big data, 43% augmented reality, 36% blockchain and 36% cryptocurrency.

However, when it comes to financial advice, people still want the human touch, with 71% of people wanting a robo adviser that also gives them access to human advice. Among Millennials, this jumps to 79%. This is true for 73% of Gen Xers and 64% of Baby Boomers.

Forty-six percent of Baby Boomers using a robo adviser say it is perfect for their life stage, and 45% of this demographic group expect to use a robo adviser by 2025.

Asked what they see as the benefits of using a robo adviser, 67% said it is taking the emotion out of investing, 65% said it is automatic rebalancing, and 60% said it is developing a diversified portfolio.

Sixty percent of current robo advice users are Millennials, and nearly one-quarter are Gen Xers. Current robo advice users are two times more likely to say it makes managing their investments extremely easy.

Edelman Intelligence conducted the online survey among  1,391 adults in July.