Derek Hagen, CFA, CFP®, FBS®, CFT™

“People have become the tools of their tools.”

-Henry David Thoreau

The goal isn’t to outsource your brain. It’s to free it for better questions.

Picture this:

An advisor is out in the world—maybe at a conference, maybe at a coffee shop—and strikes up a conversation with someone who might be a great fit. The advisor listens closely, asks thoughtful questions, and quickly picks up on what matters to this person: their concerns, their values, a few meaningful goals.

Now picture another advisor in the same situation. Also a good listener, also engaged. But this one walks away disappointed because there’s no transcript to feed into an AI tool.

Same interaction. Very different mindset.

AI is remarkable. It’s increasing productivity across our profession. But there’s a risk that’s easy to overlook: used carelessly, AI can become a crutch, gradually weakening the very muscles we’re trying to build.

AI Is a Powerful Tool if You Use It Intentionally

Let’s be clear: AI is an extraordinary tool. Practitioners are using it to:

Summarize lengthy documents
Analyze client meeting transcripts
Draft and edit content
Brainstorm ideas
Generate video scripts
Extract values, goals, and transitions from conversations

It’s impressive and rapidly evolving. As of mid-2025, the landscape changes by the month.

Used well, AI amplifies our capacity. It helps us reflect, learn, plan, and execute. It’s even starting to serve as a kind of thinking partner or sounding board.

But productivity alone isn’t the whole story.

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Overreliance on AI Can Weaken Your Human Skills

As helpful as AI can be, it comes with a subtle cost: overreliance.

It’s one thing to use AI to review a client conversation and help us reflect on our communication; where we asked strong questions, how we listened, what we might refine next time.

It’s another to offload that reflection entirely.

The former strengthens our skills.

The latter atrophies them.

AI can help us notice moments of change talk, improve our reflections, or become more comfortable with silence. But it can’t replace our presence, our discernment, or our humanity.

I’m a strong advocate for learning AI tools and using them well. But how we use them makes all the difference.

Ask yourself:

Is AI helping you become better at your craft?
Or is it taking over things you could—and maybe should—do yourself?
Are you offloading tedious admin? Or core human skills?

It’s easy to blur the line between efficiency and erosion.

FAQ: Using AI Without Losing Your Human Edge

What does it mean to use AI as a crutch?

It means relying on AI to do cognitive or relational tasks we should be practicing ourselves—like reflection, empathy, or crafting responses—at the cost of our own skill development.

How can advisors use AI without losing their soft skills?

Use AI to support, not replace, your thinking. Let it help you review, organize, and reflect—but don’t skip the step of practicing presence, empathy, and discernment.

What are the risks of overrelying on AI for client conversations?

You risk weakening your listening skills, reflection ability, and human connection. Without intentional practice, these muscles atrophy—even if AI gets the job done.

What tasks are appropriate to offload to AI?

Tasks like drafting, summarizing, and organizing—especially repetitive or administrative work—are excellent candidates for AI. Just be sure the core human work stays with you.

How can I tell if AI is helping me grow—or making me lazy?

Ask yourself: Am I more skilled, thoughtful, or effective because of this tool? Or am I skipping the hard part? If you’re using it to support growth, you’ll feel more present—not less.

Want to Learn More?

Money Quotient trains financial professionals in the True Wealth process and helps them implement the concepts into their practices. The first step is to learn about the Fundamentals of True Wealth Planning.