- Millennials and Gen Zs are three times more likely than Boomers to have saved over £500 through AI in the past year, with 41% saying AI has saved them money compared to just 14% of Boomers
- Those using AI across multiple financial tasks save on average three times more than those who act on just one
- 1 in 4 Brits admit to being more honest about their spending with AI than another person
LONDON, 24 MARCH 2026 – bunq, Europe’s second-largest neobank, has commissioned new research revealing that nearly half of UK adults (47%) have already used AI to make a personal finance decision, and the returns are far from equal. Findings from bunq’s inaugural AI in Finance report expose a widening generational divide in who is benefitting: younger Brits are not only turning to AI for their finances more readily, they are saving significantly more money as a result, pointing to a new and growing gap between those who are making AI work for them and those who have yet to start.
The report found that 60% of Millennials have already used AI for a financial decision, compared to just one in four (25%) Boomers. Among Millennials and Gen Zs, 41% say AI has saved them money in the last year, versus just 14% of Boomers. One in three younger Brits put aside over £500 through AI-guided decisions in the past twelve months, but not a single Boomer saver reported the same. Younger generations are not only adopting AI faster, they are saving significantly more as a result.
The data also points to a multiplier effect that goes beyond generational habit. UK adults who used AI across multiple financial tasks, including budgeting, investments, goal-setting, and large purchases, saved on average three times more than those who acted on just one. Yet the majority of UK adults who have not yet engaged with AI for their finances cite a lack of trust as the primary reason.
The divide is not only generational. Higher income Brits are significantly more likely to have used AI for financial decisions than lower income counterparts, with 62% of those earning more than £60,000 annually having done so compared to just 39% of those earning under £35,000. The AI in Finance report also reveals what Brits are willing to tell an algorithm that they would not tell another person. One in four UK adults (25%) say they are more honest about their spending habits with AI than they would be with a human adviser, rising to 35% among Gen Zs and Millennials. Over half (54%) expect to rely on AI even more for their finances in the next two to three years.
"People often start using AI in a very practical way, before they trust it emotionally. That psychological distance - almost like opening up to a stranger on a train - can make it easier to be honest about money, which in turn brings the real benefit: saving more of it. Over time, as people test the advice and see what works, the relationship shifts. It starts to feel like a thinking partner rather than a calculator," said Dr. Nick Hobson, behavioural scientist and Consulting Director at Influence at Work. "And that opening up may travel further than the AI conversation itself. It works like a sort of social gym. It offers a low-stakes space to rehearse the tricky conversations, asking for a raise, setting financial boundaries with family, without the fear of judgment that comes with the real thing. Once people experience what honesty about their finances actually produces, the barrier to having those conversations with other people gets lower. The practice spills over, and they show up to the human conversation a little more prepared, and a little less afraid."
Joe Wilson, Chief Evangelist at bunq, said: “It’s a dynamic time. People are increasingly turning to AI for help with everyday decisions - and it only works when it’s genuinely built around their lives. Whether it’s understanding your money or making more informed choices, the value comes from reducing friction, not adding more noise. The real impact happens when AI moves beyond being just another feature and becomes something people actually rely on, because it consistently makes things easier.”
The survey was conducted by Pollfish on behalf of bunq in February 2026, with 7,000 respondents across 7 countries: France (1,000), Germany (1,000), Ireland (1,000), the Netherlands (1,000), Spain (1,000), the United Kingdom (1,000) and the United States (1,000). The objective was to understand public perception of AI in finance including the extent to which people have adopted AI tools for money management, the benefits and concerns they associate with them, and how AI is influencing the way they think about and organise their finances.
bunq, Europe’s second-largest neobank, has rebuilt banking from the ground up. As the world’s first GenAI-powered bank, bunq’s proprietary AI powers every part of the business, from helping users with their finances, to being baked into bunq’s own operations. By developing a product rooted in its users’ wants and needs, bunq makes life easy for location-independent people and businesses, starting from the way they manage money: how they spend, save, budget and invest.
Pioneering many things considered impossible, bunq was the first bank to get a European banking permit in over 35 years, raised the largest series A round ever secured by a European fintech (€193 million), and was the first EU neobank to achieve structural profitability. As part of its mission to build the first global neobank, in October 2025 bunq also took its first step into the US as an approved broker-dealer, with more expansion to follow. Learn more: www.bunq.com