AI enablement

How I think about AI enablement for RIAs.

AI is most useful for advisory firms when each use case has a clear job, bounded inputs, visible assumptions, governance, and a review step that keeps a human responsible for the output.

Type: AI enablement note Status: Working note Updated: 2026

Useful jobs

The best AI workflow jobs are bounded and reviewable. I look for tasks where the model can reduce friction without becoming the source of truth: summarizing documents, extracting themes, comparing drafts, preparing review checklists, drafting follow-up, or turning scattered notes into a cleaner first pass.

The weaker jobs are vague prompts that ask the model to be both researcher, analyst, reviewer, and decision-maker at the same time. That can create polished output with unclear support.

Workflow shape

  1. Define the job. Name the task, audience, inputs, and expected output before using the model.
  2. Constrain the source material. Make it clear what documents, data, notes, or links the response may rely on.
  3. Ask for uncertainty. Require gaps, assumptions, and items that need human review.
  4. Separate draft from decision. Treat AI output as a structured draft, not a final answer.
  5. Keep the audit trail. Preserve the source material, prompt context, and review notes when the work matters.

In high-trust work, the useful output is not just a better paragraph. It is a clearer review path: what is supported, what is uncertain, and what needs a person.

Guardrails

  • Do not let generated language outrun the evidence.
  • Do not use AI to hide uncertainty from the final reader.
  • Do not mix client-sensitive inputs into tools or workflows that are not approved for that data.
  • Do not confuse speed with quality when the task requires professional judgment.