Nearly 80% of Americans use AI Tools but Most Still Want Humans Making Financial Decisions, TD Survey Finds

Artificial intelligence (AI) has reached a consumer inflection point. As AI rapidly shifts from experimentation to everyday expectation, Americans are embracing its benefits while becoming more deliberate about where – and under what conditions – they want it applied. According to TD’s second annual U.S. AI Insights Report to garner insights about consumer sentiment toward artificial intelligence, more than three-fourths (78%) of Americans now report using AI-enabled tools in their daily lives, and two-thirds say they are more proficient than they were last year (67%). Despite this accelerated adoption, trust is developing more gradually: only 18% of survey respondents say they would trust AI to make financial recommendations on its own, underscoring that human involvement remains central.

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The nationwide survey of more than 2,500 consumers also highlighted how quickly AI adoption is accelerating across generations. While 90% of Gen Z respondents reported using AI, usage is also widespread among Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers, underscoring how deeply the technology is becoming embedded in everyday life.

“What this year’s data makes clear is that Americans are not resisting AI, they’re redefining the role they want it to play,” said Ted Paris, Head of Analytics, Intelligence & AI, TD Bank U.S. “They want speed and simplicity, but they still expect people to be accountable for the outcomes. That expectation is shaping how we design and deploy AI across the bank.”

From Experimentation to Everyday Use: Adoption Accelerates Year Over Year

Compared to last year’s inaugural AI Insights Report¹, Americans today report significantly higher levels of AI usage across daily activities – marking a clear shift from experimentation to expectation. This shift is especially pronounced in personal finance. Last year, only 10% of consumers reported using AI to help manage their personal finances. Today, more than half (55%) say they use AI to aid their financial management decisions, with adoption rates highest among Gen Z (77%) and Millennials (72%) and growing steadily among Gen X (49%) and Boomers (30%).

Despite this rapid growth in usage of AI, comfort levels with specific AI-enabled financial activities such as budgeting (62%), automating savings goals (61%), saving for a big purchase or life event (59%), remained steady rather than accelerating, signaling that trust is building gradually, not automatically.

Consumers Prefer Human-Led, AI-Enhanced Banking

The findings reinforce a consistent theme across both years of the study: As AI becomes an everyday expectation, Americans are most comfortable with hybrid experiences that blend AI efficiency with clear human expertise.

Two-thirds of consumers reported they are most comfortable when AI supports behind-the-scenes functions such as fraud detection (67%), tracking spending (66%) and calculating credit scores (66%). At the same time, trust drops sharply when AI is positioned as an autonomous decision maker for complex or high-stakes financial choices.

Interest in AI-powered banking assistants continues to grow, with nearly half of respondents open to tools that proactively help with everyday tasks such as paying bills, setting alerts and transferring funds, provided humans remain accountable for outcomes. Millennials, in particular, showed the strongest interest in using AI assistants.

“Consumers see real value in AI when it simplifies their experience, without losing the human touch,” said Jo Jagadish, Head of Digital Banking, Payments and Contact Centers, TD Bank U.S. “The year-over-year data reinforces that responsible design matters just as much as innovation.”

Trust is Growing but is Situational

Trust again emerged as the central theme across the report’s findings. Sixty-two percent of respondents say they trust AI to provide honest, reliable and competent information, a notable increase from roughly half last year. The technology has not replaced the trust most consumers place in friends and family (90%) and banks (85%) when gathering information.

“Consumers are clearly signaling that transparency, security and human accountability are not optional features; they’re foundational requirements,” said Kiran Vuppu, U.S. Chief Information Officer, TD. “Within financial services, our responsibility is to engineer AI solutions where those safeguards are consistent and enforced. TD is committed to evolving with consumers as expectations for how modern technology supports financial decisions continue to change.”

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