The problem
Before each review you build an agenda and document request, and afterwards write a follow-up letter. If you hold 33 reviews a month and the prep and letter shell take 15 minutes each, that's 495 minutes, 8.3 hours a month.
What the AI does
Use ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini to build reusable templates: an agenda, a client document checklist, and a follow-up letter shell with headings and placeholders. The templates contain no recommendations. The adviser writes the advice, the suitability report and every recommendation, and a compliance officer approves the templates. Don't paste client financial details into the assistant.
A worked example
A three-adviser firm in Harrogate holds about 33 annual reviews a month. The advisers use approved templates for the agenda, checklist and follow-up shell and write the substance themselves.
Before
15 minutes per review on agenda, checklist and letter shell: 495 minutes, 8.3 hours a month
After
About 8 minutes filling in templates: 264 minutes, 4.4 hours a month
What it's worth
About 3.9 hours a month saved (7 minutes x 33 reviews = 231 minutes), worth around £193 if adviser time is worth £50 an hour. Cost is free to about £20 a month for one person; free plans have usage limits.
How to set it up
- Ask ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for a review agenda, a document checklist and a follow-up shell with placeholders.
- Edit them into your firm's wording and have your compliance officer approve them.
- Store the approved versions in one place.
- Fill in the placeholders yourself and write the advice yourself.
- Review the templates once a year or when rules change.
What goes wrong
- The assistant must never write the recommendation or suitability report; that is the adviser's regulated work.
- Don't paste client names, holdings or figures into a consumer AI plan.
- Follow-up letters are client communications under Consumer Duty; read them as the client would.
- Free assistant plans have usage limits, and paid plans cost between about £4 and £20 a month depending on the vendor.