CFP Board Publishes Guide on Ethical Use of Generative AI for CFP® Professionals

February 25, 2025 at 10:00 AM EST

CFP Board has published the Generative AI Ethics Guide: A Checklist for Upholding the Code and Standards, a comprehensive guide to assist CFP^® professionals in using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in their professional services. The guide is part of an ongoing series of resources to help CFP^® professionals with their practice.

“When wielded with care and responsibility, AI has the power to amplify expertise, unlock efficiencies and enhance the value financial advisors bring to their clients,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “The Generative AI Ethics Guide helps CFP^® professionals integrate AI into their practices while staying true to CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct.”

When used effectively, generative AI can boost efficiency and enable advisors to focus on areas of their business that AI can't replicate, such as strengthening relationships and providing personalized value to clients. The Generative AI Ethics Guide outlines practical steps for CFP^® professionals to address privacy concerns, data integrity and potential biases, helping maintain the trust and quality clients expect.

The Generative AI Ethics Guide provides a checklist to help safeguard confidentiality, verify the accuracy of AI-generated output and maintain compliance with privacy laws. It also highlights the need to confirm that the use of AI does not jeopardize professional integrity or lead to conflicts of interest.

The guide emphasizes that AI can assist with tasks like research and content refinement but cannot replace the expertise, judgment and care of CFP^® professionals. CFP Board’s Consumer Sentiment Survey — Trust, But Verify supports this, finding that investors demonstrate more confidence in AI-generated advice after verifying that advice with a financial planner.

In 2025, CFP Board will form an external AI Working Group, bringing together financial and technology leaders to help shape future initiatives and programs. This group will explore how AI is transforming financial planning and what it means for firms, advisors, clients and stakeholders across the financial advice landscape. The Working Group will assess AI’s impact, develop future scenarios and provide actionable recommendations to help ensure that CFP Board and its stakeholders navigate this evolving landscape ethically and responsibly while harnessing AI’s full potential.

Download the Generative AI Ethics Guide: A Checklist for Upholding the Code and Standards.

ABOUT CFP BOARD

CFP Board is the professional body for personal financial planners in the U.S. CFP Board consists of two affiliated organizations focused on advancing the financial planning profession for the public’s benefit. CFP Board of Standards sets and upholds standards for financial planning and administers the prestigious CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® certification — widely recognized by the public, advisors and firms as the standard for financial planners — so that the public has access to the benefits of competent and ethical financial planning. CFP^® certification is held by more than 100,000 people in the U.S. CFP Board Center for Financial Planning addresses diversity and workforce development challenges and conducts and publishes research that adds to the financial planning profession’s body of knowledge.