The Trusted Partner for financial decision making: Romantic partner or AI?

Abstract

Consumers increasingly turn to financial advisory services driven by artificial intelligence (AI)—financial robo advisors—to seek financial advice, yet financial and investment decisions are often made within romantic partnerships. We investigate whether financial advice is more likely to be accepted when it comes from one's romantic partner versus AI as the advice source and explore the underlying processes and AI design features shaping willingness to follow financial advice. Across four experiments, we find robust evidence of AI aversion: consumers prefer financial advice from their romantic partner over AI advice. The relationship between the source of advice and willingness to follow the advice is mediated by cognitive and affective trust, with affective trust being the stronger mediator. Study 2 shows that anthropomorphizing AI reduces AI aversion—advice from an anthropomorphized robo advisor is accepted at rates similar to partner advice. Studies 3 A and 3 B demonstrate that advice from a romantic partner using AI assistance is accepted at similarly high rates as romantic partner advice but significantly more than standalone AI. These findings highlight the critical role of affective trust in high-stakes financial decisions and show that anthropomorphism and human-AI collaboration can mitigate consumer resistance to AI in relational financial contexts.