Key Takeaways

• AI is changing how prospective clients discover advisors, making digital visibility an increasingly relevant part of practice growth.
• Clear differentiation, credible third-party signals and specialized expertise can help prospects understand whom your practice serves and what it is known for.
• Improving AI visibility starts with broader growth questions: whom you want to attract, how you want to differentiate your practice and whether your marketing supports those priorities.

Think about a prospective client asking an AI tool for a financial advisor who understands stock compensation or business succession. Or consider someone using online search to identify a shortlist of firms to explore. For financial advisors, these examples make AI visibility more than a ‘search’ question. It is also a growth question: Does your digital presence reflect the clients you want to attract, the expertise you want to be known for and what differentiates your practice?

In AssetMark’s Growth in the Age of AI: Optimizing Your Digital Presence webinar, Samantha Russell, Chief Evangelist at FMG, explored how AI-powered search is changing the way prospects discover and evaluate financial advisors. Her guidance focused on reviews, specialized expertise and content that answers prospective clients’ questions.

The opportunity comes as advisors increasingly recognize AI’s potential to support practice growth. AssetMark’s 2026 Advisor Insights: Artificial Intelligence report found that 43% of advisors who have adopted AI identify business growth as a benefit. Making the most of an evolving search environment starts with clarity around your broader growth priorities: whom you want to serve, what you want your practice to be known for and how your marketing supports those goals.

If you are evaluating how opportunities like AI visibility fit into your broader growth strategy, AssetMark’s Growth Readiness Assessment can help you identify priorities and consider where your practice may have room to strengthen its approach.

How Is AI Search Changing the Way Prospects Find Advisors?

Traditional search often starts with short keywords and a list of links. Conversational AI lets prospective clients describe their circumstances, location and financial priorities in more detail. Russell demonstrated that different AI tools can recommend different firms for similar questions. As she put it, “Your business is no longer trying to rank higher. You either are the answer, or you’re not.” Those results are useful to monitor, but they are not definitive rankings.

Put yourself in the shoes of a prospective client. Choose an AI tool and ask it to recommend an advisor based on your location, areas of expertise and the types of clients you serve. Which firms appear? What sources are cited? Then compare those results with your own digital presence to see whether your specialties are clearly represented. The goal is not simply to appear in more AI-generated responses. It is to be discoverable for the right reasons by the prospects your practice is best positioned to serve.

1. Strengthen Reviews and Other Credibility Signals

An advisory firm’s digital reputation extends beyond its own website. Reviews, independent references, professional directories and discussions in online forums may shape what prospective clients find. The language people use to describe a firm’s services can also reinforce its areas of expertise.

Review the information associated with your firm and ask whether it reinforces the reputation you are trying to build. Are your specialties accurate? Do third-party profiles and reviews reflect the clients you want to serve and the expertise you want to be known for? Any strategy involving reviews or testimonials should follow applicable adviser marketing rules and firm approval, disclosure and recordkeeping requirements.

2. Show What Makes Your Expertise Distinct

A defined client niche can make an advisory firm more relevant to a specific search. Russell illustrated this with a firm whose website features planning content for Amazon employees, including restricted stock units, 401(k) considerations and employer-specific FAQs.

She also showcased the firm’s podcast transcripts and online reviews. Together, these examples show how a consistent body of specialized content and third-party credibility can reinforce what a firm is known for online, while also helping prospective clients evaluate whether the advisor’s expertise aligns with their needs. That specificity can support discoverability while also helping prospective clients quickly understand whether a firm’s expertise aligns with their needs—making differentiation an important part of both digital visibility and growth.

3. Structure Content Around the Questions People Ask

An important distinction is the difference between search engine optimization (SEO) and answer engine optimization (AEO). Traditional SEO helps people find relevant pages; AEO focuses on making information easier for answer-oriented search tools to interpret. The approaches can work together. Several practical updates can help advisors improve their digital visibility:

• Answer the questions your ideal clients are already asking through articles, FAQs and other educational content.
• Make expertise easy to understand by identifying authors, connecting related content and keeping useful information current.
• Extend the value of podcasts, videos, awards and media appearances by making the underlying expertise accessible on your website.

If you have a website or digital marketing team, work with them to make sure your content is structured in ways that help search engines and AI tools understand what your firm does and who it serves. These steps can improve clarity and discoverability, but none guarantees that an AI platform will recommend a firm.

How Does AI Visibility Fit Into Your Growth Strategy?

Improving your visibility in AI search is one part of a broader growth strategy. The larger questions are whom you want to attract, what differentiates your practice and whether your marketing, service model and resources are aligned with where you want the business to go next.

As you evaluate your digital presence, consider what it reveals about those priorities. Does it clearly communicate the clients you are best equipped to serve? Does it demonstrate the expertise you want to be known for? And are your marketing efforts supporting the growth opportunities that matter most to your practice?

For a deeper look at AI search and practical ways to strengthen your digital presence, watch the full Growth in the Age of AI: Optimizing Your Digital Presence webinar featuring Samantha Russell.

Ready to take a broader look at your practice’s growth opportunities? Complete AssetMark’s Growth Readiness Assessment to explore your priorities and whether AssetMark Growth Consulting may be a fit for your business.