Not long ago, young investors seeking financial advice would turn to family members, bank advisers or personal finance books. Today, many are just as likely to open ChatGPT, scroll through Instagram reels or watch a TikTok creator break down stock market trends in under a minute.
As artificial intelligence tools become more sophisticated and financial content floods social media platforms, Gen Z is reshaping how it learns about money. But while AI can offer instant answers and finfluencers can make complex topics easier to understand, experts warn that convenience does not always translate into accuracy.
The question is no longer whether young people are using these tools, but which one they trust more when real money is on the line.
Why Gen Z trusts more than traditional financial institutions
According to Jeel Gandhi, CEO of Under 25, trust for Gen Z is no longer built solely through banks, financial institutions or traditional experts. Instead, it is shaped by a mix of peers, creators, online communities and increasingly, AI-powered tools.
“If you want to understand where Gen Z gets financial advice from, you have to look at their definition of trust. For this generation, trust is no longer built only through traditional institutions, but through a mix of peers, creators, communities, and increasingly, AI-led tools,” says Gandhi.
This shift has dramatically changed how young people engage with money. Financial information is now available instantly, often explained in simpler, more relatable ways than traditional financial literature.
“So access to financial information today is far more immediate and easy to understand, which is enabling more young people to start engaging with money matters earlier and more independently than before.”
Platforms such as Reddit, creator-led content and AI tools like ChatGPT have helped make conversations around investing, budgeting and personal finance less intimidating for first-time learners.
However, Gandhi cautions that easier access to information does not always mean better context. Unlike traditional financial advice, which typically comes with regulatory oversight and standardised frameworks, online advice often presents multiple viewpoints that users must evaluate for themselves.
“This shift means that information doesn’t always come with the same level of context or standardisation as traditional sources. As a result, Gen Z often navigates multiple perspectives, cross-checking, and validating decisions through a mix of sources.”
The result is a generation that is increasingly self-directed in its financial decision-making, but also one that must learn to distinguish credible advice from noise.
“This makes financial advice today more inclusive and widely available, but also places greater importance on clarity, credibility, and context in how that information is shared and consumed.”
‘I prefer getting my stock and IPO updates from Instagram and YouTube creators’
Harsh Kumar, 23, who is an MBA student at Flames University, shares with Firstpost that he massively uses AI for research as it is a new space and he hasn’t explored it in depth when it comes to seeking financial guidance.
However, he says “I prefer getting my stock and IPO updates from Instagram and YouTube creators. I already follow people like Raj Shamani, Akshat Shrivastava, Pranjal Kamra, and CA Rachana Ranade, who break everything down in Hinglish before the news even catches up.”
Sharing further with Firstpost, the student states that “word of mouth hits different too – that one bhaiya (brother) or chachu (uncle) who’s always on these brokerage platforms, friends from college or office who invest, and even the random IPO forward in the family WhatsApp group. At times, I’ve received some of the best tips from my family.”
When it comes to seeking more long-term financial tips, “I just open ET Markets or Moneycontrol, turn on notifications, and they ping me the second a big IPO drops or a stock moves,” says Kumar.
Another student named Radha Anjaria, 20, who is pursuing B.E in mechanical (engineering), says that her financial journey started with watching a reel.
“I personally, being Gen Z first, started investing by seeing a reel. That’s when I started investing in gold then started researching about trading,” she shares.
Anjaria further shares that she invested gold with the help of AI tools. “I slowly started investing in it with the help of AI tools like Claude then started mutual funds also through AI and reels. So yeah, I mostly got influenced through AI and reels,” she concludes.
According to research by the CFA Institute and FINRA Foundation, 48 per cent of Gen Z investors use social media to learn about investing, making it their most popular source of investment information.
Platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Reddit have transformed financial education into bite-sized, easy-to-consume content, helping young people engage with money matters earlier than previous generations.
AI is emerging as a new financial adviser
A survey by BMO Financial Group found that 61 per cent of Gen Z respondents use AI tools to manage their finances.
Many use AI-powered platforms to learn about personal finance, create budgets, develop savings plans and even explore investment strategies. The appeal lies in the instant, personalised responses that AI tools can provide, often without the intimidation associated with traditional financial advice.
Gen Z is investing younger than ever
Research suggests that Gen Z is entering the world of investing at a much younger age than previous generations.
A CFA Institute study found that 82 per cent of Gen Z investors started investing before the age of 21.
Easier access to financial information, commission-free investing platforms and the rise of online financial communities have all contributed to a generation that is becoming financially engaged earlier in life.
Trust is shifting from institutions to multiple sources
Unlike previous generations, Gen Z does not rely on a single source of financial advice.
Studies show that young investors often combine insights from social media creators, online communities, AI tools and professional advisers before making financial decisions.
This approach reflects a broader shift in how trust is formed, with many young people preferring to cross-check information across multiple platforms rather than depend solely on traditional institutions.
Human advice still matters
Despite the growing popularity of AI and finfluencers, human financial advice remains important. A recent CFA Institute survey found that more than 90 per cent of affluent Gen Z and millennial investors use some form of paid financial advice, whether through traditional advisers, robo-advisers, accountants or lawyers.
The findings suggest that rather than replacing professional guidance, AI and social media are increasingly complementing.
