The Investing and Savings Alliance (Tisa) has issued a stark warning about the risks posed by unregulated AI search engines in financial services, calling for immediate regulatory action to prevent consumer harm. In a formal submission to the Treasury Select Committee’s AI inquiry, the industry body described the current landscape as a “wild west” where consumers face potential misinformation from generative AI tools providing unchecked financial guidance.
The intervention comes as Bank of England data reveals 75% of UK financial firms already use AI, with another 10% planning adoption within three years. While acknowledging AI’s transformative potential for efficiency gains and personalized financial advice, Tisa highlights dangerous gaps in consumer protections when individuals rely on public AI tools for critical money decisions.
“Confident-sounding but inaccurate information from AI search engines poses particular risks for vulnerable consumers,” said Tisa policy executive Phil Turnpenny. The organization is urging the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and HM Treasury to bring these tools within the regulatory perimeter, arguing that current rules fail to address emerging threats from generative AI systems that increasingly function as de facto financial advisors without oversight.
Tisa’s recommendations include convening industry leaders to overcome barriers to responsible AI deployment, accelerating Open Finance initiatives to improve data quality, and updating regulations to address explainability, accountability, and bias in AI systems. The body emphasizes that properly designed AI could significantly improve financial inclusion but warns that unfettered development risks undermining consumer trust.
The call reflects growing global concerns about AI’s role in financial decision-making, particularly as tools like ChatGPT and Gemini become go-to sources for investment advice. Tisa suggests drawing clear regulatory distinctions between vetted financial AI systems and general-purpose tools that may deliver dangerously oversimplified or inaccurate guidance about complex products like pensions or investments.
With UK financial services increasingly embedding AI across operations—from risk management to customer service—the recommendations could shape coming reforms as policymakers balance innovation against consumer protection in one of the economy’s most sensitive sectors.