Mark Papendieck  (DASH) shares his insights on building the right foundations and frameworks for adopting emerging advice technology, like cloud computing and AI, within an advice business

If you’re an adviser or licensee ready to dismiss the impact artificial intelligence (AI) and the new breed of advice technology tools will have on the delivery of financial planning advice, then think again, says Mark Papendieck — Chief Commercial Officer at DASH Technology Group.

According to Mark, unlike the internet, which has largely taken offline processes and moved them online, like banking and food ordering (while still leaving decision-making entirely with humans), the rollout of AI has been fundamentally different.

“Whilst AI also allows us to change how we do things, importantly, it changes who can do things — humans or machines,” says Mark. “AI will have a deeper impact on society, because it’s different to the internet in the way it works. And AI is also being adopted much faster than the internet was. The internet took seven years to reach 100 million users, while ChatGPT took only three months.”

Speaking on the topic of ‘Emerging advice technology’ at the IMAP Advice in Action 2025 conference, Mark points to GPQA (Graduate-Level Google-Proof Q&A Benchmark — a challenging dataset designed to evaluate the capabilities of Large Language Models) findings showing that in just the last two years, the accuracy of Large Language Models (advanced AI models) has improved significantly.

Today, the capability of these models exceed that of a human with a science-level PhD. 

“AI is fundamentally a different technology that will change who does things and how things get done,” says Mark. “AI is rapidly improving and being adopted, and the cost to access this technology is rapidly declining.

“So, it actually doesn’t matter any more if you believe or don’t believe in AI, because economics always wins.

That means as soon as advice practices are delivering more personalised advice faster, efficiently and at a lower cost, then the conversation will quickly shift from whether you believe or don’t believe in AI, to how you’re going to respond to changing client expectations as a result of AI.”

A common objection Mark hears from advisers about AI is around security and privacy issues. However, whilst not downplaying these concerns, Mark believes these issues are easily solvable.

He believes cloud computing — the delivery of computing services, including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence over the internet — is the first place advisers should turn to for emerging advice technology.

He points to the likes of Microsoft, Amazon and Google that all provide reputable cloud computing platforms.

Mark says these cloud platforms effectively solve security and privacy issues by deploying enterprise-grade security (a robust set of practices, technologies, and controls that are used to protect data, applications, and infrastructure within cloud environments), which protects both business and client data. 

“Cloud computing also gives advisers access to these Large Language Models and other AI tools, including robotic machine learning tools, within these secure cloud computing platforms. So, when it comes to emerging advice technology, that’s where you need to start,” he says.

However, Mark acknowledges that whilst cloud platforms do provide a range of services and functions that businesses require, there’s still likely to be a need for advice businesses to access additional technology that sits outside their cloud platform. He refers to these as ‘connectors’. 

‘No-code’ tools are a good example of connectors. No-code is a software development approach that enables users to develop applications and automate business processes without writing code. It uses visual interfaces and drag-and-drop tools that enable non-technical users to build functional software with little to no programming knowledge.

From a software perspective, what may have cost a business, say, $50,000 to develop only three years ago, advisers can now produce for a couple of hundred dollars.

“I’m not suggesting advisers turn their practices into software businesses,” says Mark. “But there will be occasions where you’ll want a bespoke client or staff experience, which is now possible for advisers to provide by using this technology. You don’t need to be able to code.

All you need is to be able to clearly articulate what it is you want to do, like designing a fact find, and now you’re able to easily produce that within your own business environment.”

For example, an adviser can simply type a prompt into ChatGPT, which quickly refines the prompt. The adviser can then cut and paste this refined copy into an AI tool, like Replit, which builds the fact find automatically in under 11 minutes for less than $1.00.

“Naturally, the fact find does need some refinement from the adviser, but it demonstrates the efficiencies that can be achieved by using the right type of technology within your business,” says Mark.

“Whatever it is you want to do these days, whether it’s for staff or clients, you can use an external tool to generate a prototype (which for privacy reasons, is not going to capture and store sensitive client information), and then have that task dropped back into your environment.”

Mark believes the convergence of cloud computing, AI, and other emerging advice technology, requires advisers to rethink and re-engineer how they work within their businesses.

For example, the use of AI avatar technology can enable advisers to customise realistic avatars for videos, marketing, and client communication. This not only enhances an adviser’s value proposition, but also keeps clients engaged with their adviser and in the financial planning process.

According to Mark, the biggest risk facing advisers and licensees when adopting new technology is to deploy it carelessly — effectively, automating what you should be protecting and overlooking what you should be amplifying. This can impact a business’s value proposition.

He believes that unless an adviser is absolutely clear on what their value proposition is, then they will not select the right technology tools because they don’t know what they’re selecting for.

“My advice is to think about your business now and over the next couple of years, and don’t think about the tools that might be there in the future. Instead, think about the capabilities of the tools that are available today,” he says.

“Think about the functions that AI will replace, like repeatable, low value tasks that no longer need to be done by a human. These are the types of tasks that can be automated and done more efficiently by using AI tools.” 

However, Mark adds it’s important to ensure that whatever tools advisers select or tasks they choose to automate, doesn’t dilute their value proposition. Instead, advisers need to select tools that will strengthen their unique value proposition.

“Remember, while it’s critical to have the infrastructure in place by choosing the right cloud platform and technology tools, it’s also critical to know what you’re going to do with those tools and the outcome you want to achieve.”