Podcast and Takeaways: The AI-Informed Client Has Arrived—Be the Guide, Not the Defender
Jun 25, 2026
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By Sean Bailey, Horsesmouth Editor in Chief
AI for Advisors Podcast: Clients are walking into meetings having already run their situation through ChatGPT, and asking about Roth conversions, Social Security timing, and mortgage payoffs. Most advisors instinctively push back, and that’s exactly the wrong move. Learn why clients who bring AI research to their meetings are a sign of deeper engagement, not a threat.
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Key takeaways
- The AI-informed client has arrived: Clients are showing up having already consulted ChatGPT or Claude on Roth conversions, Social Security timing, and whether to pay off their mortgage. Kitces published a framework for handling these conversations—you don’t build frameworks for theoretical problems.
- Don't go defensive: Saying “AI doesn’t understand your situation” or “Do you trust ChatGPT more than me?” shuts down the conversation and assumes the AI is the issue. Most of the time it isn’t.
- The AI recommendation is often a vehicle for a deeper concern: When a client mentions a Roth conversion their chatbot suggested, they may really be anxious about taxes in retirement, unsettled by something they read, or simply looking for reassurance. Arguing with the AI output means missing what they’re actually asking.
- Use the Kitces framework—thank, listen, understand, co-create: Thank the client for bringing it up (it encourages curiosity and signals you’re not threatened), listen fully before jumping to correction mode, dig for what’s really underneath, then work through it together.
- Be the guide, not the defender: When you stop defending your authority and start helping clients make sense of information, the conversation gets richer and the relationship goes deeper. The client brings the question; you bring the context and interpretation.
- A client citing AI is a client who’s leaning in: They’re thinking about their finances, they’re curious, and they trust you enough to bring it to the table. That’s a strong relationship signal—treat it as an opportunity to go deeper, not a challenge to your expertise.
- Post-meeting debrief prompt: After a client brings AI research, prompt an AI: “My client brought me this AI output. Here’s how I responded. Here’s what I know about their situation that the AI couldn’t have known. Help me think about what might have been underneath their question, what I likely got right, what I might have missed, and what’s worth revisiting next time.”
- The goal isn’t to be graded—it’s to become a better listener: Using AI to debrief after these conversations sharpens your ability to hear what clients are really asking beneath the surface. That skill—interpreting context, not just delivering information—is what your value proposition is actually built on.