The general consensus appears to be leaning towards the idea that artificial intelligence can replace the role of human financial advisors and therefore, those in the industry must adapt or risk getting left behind. But before jumping to that conclusion, it's worth exploring some important questions: what's next, what is needed and who needs it? And, perhaps crucially, whether AI will ever remove the need for human advisors in the financial industry. AI transforming financial sector Business leaders have revealed that the use of technology including AI plays a significant role in filling gaps within financial services offerings. Jim Pendergast, Senior Vice President and General Manager at AltLINE by The Southern Bank, has said that AI can improve the consistency of financial advice.

Artificial intelligence is changing the world of retirement planning. By using improved datasets and algorithms to efficiently deliver solutions tailored to people's needs, AI can help them save, invest and retire better. One of the hottest trends to emerge in this area in recent years is the use of robo-advisors. These are software programs that use the data supplied by clients to create and automatically manage their investment portfolios. They're gaining in popularity, but are they better than human advisors?

According to The Wall Street Journal the millennial (or Generation Y) age bracket's move to settling down and securing reasonably well-paid jobs is pushing companies to revamp marketing and products, especially financial ones. Millennials expect digital first service These products are being marketed online, given the increased use and familiarity of millennials with communications, media, and digital technologies. This pattern also reflects the different expectations of millennials in terms of multi-channel access and the types of financial products made available. One such example is the expectation of having more personalized banking products or services. Robo-advisors targeted to millennials This shift has presented new opportunities for fintech startup, according to David Semerad, writing for Forbes.

David Reilly, CTO at Bank of America, believes that automation will "change how we insure property, loan money, invest money, deliver technology, write research reports, and what professionals in financial services do every day." For example, an insurance company can incorporate far more data -- from credit scores to behavior -- when it decides how risky a customer is. He added: "Every week in the news we read about a new application for artificial intelligence, machine learning, neural networks, or robots -- whether it is self-driving cars, AI assistants, predictive models, robots building (or printing) hardware, or how to invest our money ... Put these all in the category of automation -- and that is what will impact finance the most in the next decade." Diwakar Choubey, CEO of online lender MoneyLion, predicts that "what was once a sit-down conversation between a client and their personal private banker might now be accessible through a mobile app to broad audiences, 24/7." Jenny Fielding, managing director at Techstars Accelerator, said that technology "enables basic automation so that making payments, checking balances and customer service can happen in real time via messaging platforms. However, as the underlying technologies mature, deep learning algorithms will minimize the need for human interaction."