Is your BD putting AI to work—or putting it off?

In a profession that once relied on handwritten notes and leather-bound appointment books, financial advisors now stand at the cusp of a seismic shift. Artificial intelligence is no longer just a buzzword floating around fintech conferences. It is actively reshaping client service, productivity, and business growth. When advisors evaluate a firm during transitions, AI adoption must be part of the conversation, not a footnote.

The AI Wave Is No Longer Optional

Over the past year, major custodians and broker-dealers have accelerated AI rollouts that go beyond gimmicks. These tools are embedded directly into advisor workflows, not parked in pilot limbo.

Firms like Charles Schwab, Raymond James, LPL Financial, Cetera, and Ameriprise are moving aggressively to implement AI in ways that support client personalization, enhance efficiency, and unlock new revenue opportunities. Let’s take a closer look at how each firm is approaching the AI revolution.

In Focus: Charles Schwab

Scale and Sophistication

As one of the largest custodians in the RIA space, Schwab is leveraging its size and resources to pilot AI initiatives that align with its broader growth strategy. Schwab serves nearly 15,000 RIAs and manages over $4.7 trillion in assets in that channel alone. The firm is making a deliberate push to bring AI into real-time advisor-client engagement.

Piloting at Scale

Schwab is currently testing 40 AI-driven tools, aimed at improving both efficiency and personalization for advisors and their clients. While the firm hasn’t released granular detail on each tool, the focus is on streamlining workflows, delivering real-time recommendations, and enabling more intuitive service experiences.

Crypto and AI Together

In parallel with its AI rollout, Schwab is also expanding its digital asset offerings, including crypto ETF exposure and plans to launch direct trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum. Combined with its AI investments, Schwab is positioning itself as a modern platform that enables forward-looking advisors to meet evolving client expectations.

In Focus: Raymond James

Built In-House, Built for Service

Raymond James has taken a different route than many competitors, building its generative AI platform internally. The Raymond James AI Search tool allows advisors and associates to use natural language to query internal systems, surface documents, uncover client solutions, and access training materials quickly and accurately.

Seamless and Secure

The tool is designed for seamless integration. Instead of layering new platforms onto an advisor’s workflow, Raymond James makes AI accessible through the systems they already use. With a strong focus on human oversight, the firm emphasizes trust, quality control, and ease of use.

Investing in Tech Leadership

The rollout is backed by leadership investment, including the appointment of a Chief AI Officer and a broader tech roadmap centered on scalable, secure, and advisor-empowering innovation. Raymond James currently allocates nearly $1 billion annually to technology development.

In Focus: LPL Financial

A Practical, Advisor-First Approach

LPL has taken a distinctly pragmatic approach to AI, one rooted in helping advisors adopt usable tools without disrupting their day-to-day work. Rather than reinventing the wheel, LPL is curating a suite of best-in-class third-party solutions and integrating them into existing platforms advisors already know and use.

Curated Tools, Embedded into Workflow

Launched in late 2024, LPL’s AI Advisor Solutions offering includes:

• Jump – Auto-generates meeting agendas, notes, and CRM entries
  
  
• Microsoft 365 Copilot – Creates emails, documents, and data summaries using tools already familiar to advisors
  
  
• FMG Mobile – Assists in creating FINRA-reviewed social media and marketing content
  
  
• FactSet Transcript Assistant – Summarizes earnings calls and industry insights to help advisors stay informed
  
  

AI Accelerator and Future Innovation

Beyond current offerings, LPL is also running an AI Accelerator, inviting selected advisors to pilot new AI use cases such as enhanced onboarding, AI-assisted planning, and predictive insights.

In Focus: Cetera

Insight-Led Growth

Cetera’s IntelligenceEngine is the centerpiece of its AI initiative, a platform designed to help advisors identify growth opportunities, personalize engagement, and deepen client relationships. The emphasis is not just on automation, but on generating actionable insights that help advisors work smarter.

Targeted Recommendations

The IntelligenceEngine aggregates data across client portfolios, behaviors, and historical engagement. It then delivers targeted alerts and suggestions, helping advisors take timely, relevant action.

Advisor Empowerment, Not Disruption

Cetera’s strategy focuses on enhancing human connections, not replacing them. Advisors retain full control over outreach and messaging, but now have a digital co-pilot to help identify what to say and when to say it.

In Focus: Ameriprise Financial

A Centralized-But-Decentralized Approach

Ameriprise has signaled a major commitment to AI, showcased by a new enterprise-level AI governance structure and the appointment of a Vice President of AI Strategy & Analytics. This centralized leadership guides the ethical, strategic, and technical frameworks, while allowing individual business units the freedom to develop and deploy localized solutions.

Empowering Business Units

This structure allows teams across Ameriprise to customize AI tools to meet client needs, all while adhering to firmwide standards for compliance, risk, and consistency.

Use Cases in Motion

Ameriprise is deploying AI in areas such as:

• Real-time client engagement alerts
  
  
• Personalized financial planning
  
  
• Predictive analytics for investments
  
  
• Virtual assistants and fraud detection
  
  

Ameriprise is not just experimenting with AI. It is integrating it into the core of how advisors operate and clients experience financial advice.

AI in Action: How Tools Empower Advisors

The practical benefits of these tools are beginning to reshape advisor workflows. Across firms, AI is already supporting:

• CRM automation and meeting documentation
  
  
• Email drafting and proposal generation
  
  
• Marketing content tailored to clients and pre-approved by compliance
  
  
• Predictive client insights, alerts, and growth recommendations
  
  
• Automated earnings summaries and competitive intelligence
  
  

These tools reduce repetitive work, enhance personalization, and free up time to focus on high-impact client relationships.

Rollout and Adoption: Who’s Supporting Advisors

The difference between successful AI implementation and superficial rollouts often comes down to training, integration, and leadership commitment.

• LPL and Raymond James are embedding AI into systems advisors already use and backing it with training and support.
  
  
• Schwab and Cetera emphasize platform depth, client insight, and scalable growth.
  
  
• Ameriprise is combining centralized ethics and strategy with decentralized innovation, ensuring the rollout is both strategic and nimble.
  
  

Firms that delay or bolt-on AI solutions risk leaving advisors frustrated, unsupported, and behind the curve.

Why AI Belongs in Every Transition Conversation

Advisors evaluating a move often zero in on transition packages and payout grids. But increasingly, the quality and usability of a firm’s AI platform may be just as critical to long-term growth.

Before making a move, advisors should ask:

• What AI tools are live and in use now?
  
  
• Are these tools integrated or optional add-ons?
  
  
• How is training and adoption supported?
  
  
• Will these tools improve my efficiency and scale?
  
  

A high payout with an outdated tech stack could mean slower growth, more admin work, and client attrition.

The Role of Transition Consultants in an AI-Engaged World

Evaluating AI offerings, and distinguishing between hype and real impact, is challenging. That is where a transition consultant like 3xEquity adds meaningful value.

We do more than just compare offers:

• We help you understand which firms are truly ahead in AI and which are falling behind
  
  
• We work with you to prioritize what matters most, whether that is automation, client engagement tools, or marketing platforms
  
  
• We help schedule and guide technology demos with prospective firms, giving you the chance to see how tools function in real workflows
  
  
• We ensure you have a full-picture view of the platform, not just the payout
  
  

It is the difference between accepting the biggest check and making the smartest move for your long-term success.

Don’t Skip the Tech Tipping Point

AI is here, it is functional, and it is influencing which firms thrive in the advisor economy. Firms investing in AI are gaining client engagement, scaling faster, and improving compliance. Firms without it are ceding ground.

Ameriprise, LPL, Schwab, Raymond James, and Cetera are positioning themselves at the forefront of this shift. Each has taken a different path, but all are investing in AI as a core competency.

Any advisor planning a move should include AI capabilities in their evaluation. Make your transition about more than immediate compensation. Make it about capacity, scalability, and where you want your practice to be in five years.