A Simple series: AI for family offices 101

Technology Updated on August 13, 2025

Table of Contents

The state of AI in family offices
The capability gap
What AI can already do
What AI cannot do…yet
What your family office can do
Three quick wins to try
What comes next?

We’ve all heard that the future is AI. But what does that mean for family offices? Apart from mainstream generative AI tools like ChatGPT, what are family office staff actually using on a day-to-day basis? Despite the pace of development being so fast, we outline what AI is currently capable of doing for family offices and what it cannot do. Then, we demystify some of the AI solutions available for family offices today and unpack the value they bring.

This guide aims to help family offices take their first steps toward AI adoption. It includes simple suggestions for decision makers and maps out three low-risk, practical steps that any family office can use to get started.

The state of AI in family offices

Broadly speaking, most professionals are using AI in one way or another. That goes for family office staff as well. In just a few months, AI has become ubiquitous with mainstream software, whether to craft just the right email or help summarise the main points of a report.

To be more precise, a Microsoft article cited that 75% of knowledge workers are using generative AI on a daily basis and are not waiting for their companies’ tech stacks to catch up.

The issue for family offices is not whether they are exposed to artificial intelligence but whether they are applying it strategically to streamline their internal operations.

Famous for funding start-ups, family offices have invested heavily in AI through venture capital funds. Citi Private Bank research shows that in a slow economic climate, where AI was the shiny new object, a majority (53%) of family offices have backed companies deploying AI in various fields, including health, energy, and finance.

But what about implementing AI inside the family office? Largely, the buck stops at the doorstep. In a Simple poll, most (41%) family offices cited cybersecurity and privacy as barriers. In second and third place (19%), respondents said they experienced difficulty finding AI solutions tailored to family offices and lacked internal expertise. Only 3% cited high costs of implementation and integration.

The capability gap

Since family offices invest in AI start-ups but do not fully leverage it in their internal operations presents an adoption paradox. The situation is not unique. Stanford University did a study about what’s referred to as AI disconnect. Basically, it explains the gap that exists between what workers want to automate and what AI technology is currently capable of delivering. If you’ve ever argued with ChatGPT, then you know what we mean.

Additionally, due to the emerging nature of AI, family offices have several concerns. Issues like privacy, security, and the phenomenon of AI hallucinations present challenges that still need to be dealt with before taking on full-on AI adoption.

So, how can a family office safely start adopting AI in its workflow? In the same way, one eats an elephant. Breaking it down into smaller, more manageable steps can help achieve this seemingly impossible task. What that looks like for a family office is piloting small projects that yield consistent progress over time without feeling overwhelmed. And that starts with knowing what AI can do for your family office, as well as what it cannot do, at least for the time being.

What AI can already do

It’s necessary to understand what AI can do within your family office today, to provide more clarity on the types of pilot projects you can begin initiating. Despite the headlines, most current use cases for AI are not about replacing people or deploying dystopian AGIs…yet.

Rather, they are about saving time, reducing manual labour, and giving teams the leverage they need to scale operations or optimise their outputs. Here are some real-world examples we’ve seen, demonstrated by our family office service providers:

1. Data extraction and automation

Automating routine tasks, specifically within wealth management, is one of the most effective ways AI delivers significant value to family offices. Essentially, this involves reducing the hours spent manually entering investment data from PDFs. How it works is that once a PDF is uploaded, the tool retrieves data and categorises it within the relevant fields, be it capital calls, cash flow, deposits, withdrawals, etc. All the while storing the PDF document with the corresponding transaction or investment.

2. Instant analysis

Another way AI is currently used in family offices is for its ability to instantly surface data when needed. So instead of having to recall file names or scroll down to see past transactions, family office software that is powered by AI can instantly surface the information you need with natural language prompting. Family office software that offers this AI feature usually comes with a chat interface on the dashboard, enabling users to interact with their financial data in a conversational manner.

3. Complex accounting

Family office accounting has been a major beneficiary of AI with its numerous entities, currencies, and accounts. Typically built on AI-powered general ledgers, a number of platforms use APIs to integrate with all your other platforms. Then they create accounting connections and sync all your transaction data on one dashboard to give a holistic overview of wealth. So, instead of working with several siloed platforms and then consolidating everything in a spreadsheet, they can streamline everything on a unified AI-powered platform.

4. Legal and compliance

Last but not least, family offices that have in-house legal teams can use AI in their daily legal processes to reduce repetitive tasks. Unlike general-purpose AI, legal AI is specifically trained for corporate legal teams. For instance, it’s great for analysing contracts and can generate quick summaries of legal meetings. Legal AI tools can really help family office teams transform how they work and make more informed decisions.

All the above use cases and family office service providers are available today.

What AI cannot do

Unfortunately, with anything new comes a lot of hype. And as this candid conversation with Simple’s Partnership Lead shows, the actual value of AI within the family office sector is still unfolding. While most knowledge-based work will be highly impacted within family office operations, some things, like tales as old as time, will still remain. Below are a few examples:

Replace human judgment: AI cannot fully replicate the nuanced, human judgment required for high-stakes decisions such as succession planning or resolving family disputes. While AI can provide data-driven insights and recommendations, it lacks the emotional intelligence, intuition, and contextual understanding that human principals or advisors bring to these sensitive, value-driven decisions.

Operate without oversight: Family offices handle highly sensitive personal and financial data. When using AI, they face risks from AI “hallucinations” or vulnerabilities, which is why having a human in the loop is still essential for family offices to validate outputs, secure data, and ensure compliance with regulations.

Fit all family office needs: Much like all other software, AI solutions, particularly off-the-shelf tools, cannot seamlessly adapt to the highly bespoke needs of every family office without significant customisation. Each family office has unique structures and operational quirks. Current AI tools often require fine-tuning or integration to align with these specific requirements.

These points highlight AI’s current boundaries, emphasising the need for human involvement and strategic planning in AI adoption for family offices.

What your family office can do now

With AI now in the picture, family office operations of the future will be part human, part co-pilot. That means that soon, family office staff will use machine intelligence to reduce cognitive load, automate workflows, and surface insights on demand. Assuming decisions are still being made from the top down, below are ways a family office principal, CIO and COO can encourage the family office to get the ball rolling:

The Principal

Principals can foster a culture of experimentation by supporting innovative ideas from all staff members. This creates an environment where creativity is rewarded. One effective approach to encourage this spirit is to hold a monthly AI pilot briefing, where team members can share their insights and proposals related to artificial intelligence initiatives.

The CIO

CIOs can play a pivotal role in enhancing investment operations and strategies through the effective use of AI. They can start by identifying potential use cases or areas that can benefit from AI integration. Following this, assessing the quality of the available data is essential, as this will ultimately influence the success and feasibility of any pilot projects initiated.

The COO

COOs can drive transformation by appointing a lead for AI adoption within the family office. Another step is to systematically map existing workflows to identify opportunities for automation. Additionally, the COO should outline a 90-day pilot initiative, establishing clear objectives and success metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented tools.

Three quick wins to try

1. Ready your data

The success of an AI system relies heavily on having good data. This is often referred to as the “garbage in, garbage out” principle. Many family offices struggle with messy data. But that’s perfectly normal, and shouldn’t be a roadblock. You don’t need to resolve every data issue to adopt an AI tool.

A good starting point is to identify a specific problem where AI can provide real value. This could involve optimising investment analysis or streamlining administrative processes. Having a clearly defined use case will help you isolate and clean up the correct data to begin your first AI pilot project.

2. Test an AI summariser

A low-hanging fruit for getting started is using AI powered tools to summarise lengthy non-proprietary documents and public reports. These tools quickly distil extensive texts into succinct, easily digestible overviews.

You can quickly grasp the main points and important details without having to spend the time poring over every detail. This saves time and helps improve the management of your tasks and responsibilities.

3. Trail an AI vendor

Many vendors offer AI platforms to automate and improve family office services, from consolidated accounting to generating reports. Once they have identified a sweet spot for AI automation, family offices should request a demo and trial a chosen vendor before fully committing.

The benefit of this is that you can fully address integration challenges beforehand. This can include addressing issues such as compatibility with existing systems, data migration, customisation, and training. A thorough trial helps minimise risks and ensure a successful AI rollout for more operational efficiency in the future.

What comes next?

For family offices, implementing AI solutions presents a significant opportunity to enhance productivity. There are several AI tools available today to help families to realise its time-saving benefits, ranging from the automation of manual data entry to streamlining of repetitive legal workflows.

Many family offices have not yet incorporated AI into their internal operations. However, adopting AI can be a straightforward process, especially when a culture of experimentation is encouraged. By starting small, families can explore AI’s potential without overwhelming their operations. This way allows for testing ideas, learning from failures, and gradually building confidence. Simple steps like engaging with AI experts or implementing small-scale automation can help pave the way for broader AI integration in the future.

Next steps to take:

Take the Survey: Where does your family office stand on AI adoption today?
Sign up for Simple’s Lens AI
Read: Beyond the hype: A candid conversation on AI in wealth tech

How are family offices using AI to improve operations today?

Family offices are deploying AI to automate data extraction, streamline complex accounting across multiple entities, provide instant portfolio analysis through natural language queries, and support legal teams with contract review and compliance summaries. These tools save time, reduce manual work, and give teams faster access to decision-ready information

What are the biggest barriers to AI adoption in family offices?

The most common challenges include cybersecurity and privacy concerns, limited availability of AI tools tailored to family office needs, and a shortage of in-house expertise. High implementation costs are less of a barrier, cited by only a small percentage of family offices

Which AI tools are best suited for family office accounting, compliance, and reporting?

AI-enabled accounting platforms integrate data from multiple banks, custodians, and investment systems to create a single view of wealth. Compliance-focused AI tools can monitor regulatory obligations, summarise legal documents, and automate reporting. Many leading vendors now offer trial access so family offices can test integration and workflow benefits before committing

What can AI not yet do effectively in a family office environment?

AI cannot replace human judgment in sensitive decisions like succession planning or family conflict resolution, operate without oversight given the risk of inaccurate outputs, or perfectly fit the highly bespoke needs of every family office without significant customisation

How can a family office start a low-risk AI pilot project?

Begin by identifying a specific, high-impact problem such as improving investment analysis or summarising lengthy reports. Clean and prepare the relevant data, test AI tools on non-sensitive use cases, and run a 90-day pilot with clear success metrics. This controlled approach helps evaluate value and integration requirements without exposing the office to unnecessary risksGuide Template.

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