The Inflection Point: How RIA Edge Summit 2025 confirmed AI agents are taking over wealth management
RIA Edge Summit 2025 had 250+ wealth management leaders in Marina del Rey. The headline stat: 60% of advisors are using or planning to use AI within 12 months. The bigger story? A three-stage evolution - Note Takers to Agents to Digital Workers - that's moving faster than anyone expected.
Picture this: 250 top decision-makers of wealth management industry packed into a Marina del Rey ballroom. Ashley Longabaugh, Head of Wealth Management at Celent, drops a stat that gets everyone's attention: 60% of advisors are using or planning to use AI tools in the next 12 months.
But here's what really turned heads - she showed a slide mapping AI's evolution in our industry. Note Takers (2025) → Agents (2026) → Digital Workers (2027). The room went quiet. Everyone realized we're not talking about some distant future anymore.
This was RIA Edge Summit 2025, and the conversation had fundamentally shifted. Nobody was asking "Should we use AI?" anymore. They were sharing battle stories about implementation.
The three-stage evolution that changes everything
John O'Connell, Founder and CEO of The Oasis Group, crystallized what everyone was thinking: "2026 is going to be the year of AI agents. An agent takes action on your behalf to execute multi-step work."
The evolution is clear:
Stage 1: Note Takers (2025) - Basic AI that transcribes meetings. Most advisors are here.
Stage 2: Agents (2026) - AI that actually does things. searches documents, updates your CRM, syncs data across the tech-stack, schedules follow-ups automatically, and more.
Stage 3: Digital Workers (2027) - Multiple agents working together. O'Connell's prediction? "They're only going to need a human when you tell them to need a human."
The fascinating part? While the conference positioned Stage 2 as next year's innovation, we're already seeing AI agents for wealth advisors in action today. Our Meeting Agent doesn't just take notes - it identifies client DNA, surfaces revenue opportunities, and creates actionable intelligence. That's 2026 happening now.
The reality check that shocked everyone
Channing Olson, Managing Director at Wealthspire, delivered the conference's most sobering insight: his team spent an entire year preparing before launching their first AI agent. Not building - preparing. Cleaning data. Documenting 40+ processes. Starting with single-task agents.
Meanwhile, Cambridge Investment Research showed what's possible: they built an AI tool that cut account opening from 17 minutes to seconds. Jordan Hutchinson from RFG Advisory put it simply: "All the advisor needs to do is bring a client a DocuSign. The AI handles everything else."
This paradox - year-long preparation versus instant results - reveals the real challenge. The technology works. The question is implementation.
That's why we built Mili differently. Our agents adapt to your existing setup from day one. No year-long data cleanup. No process documentation marathons. While others prepare, our clients are already automating. Mili’s Data Management Agent eliminates the 5-7 hours advisors waste weekly on manual data updates. The Onboarding Agent turns weeks into days. The Meeting Agent captures real-time notes and updates information across your CRM, financial planning tool, custodian, and more!
The workforce conversation that needed to happen
Taylor Matthews, CEO of Farther (zero to $6 billion AUM in five years), addressed what everyone was thinking: "The goal of AI is to drive efficiency and growth. It's not to eliminate a person, it's to avoid having to hire that next admin so quickly. AI is designed to elevate, not eliminate."
Andree Mohr from Integrated Partners was refreshingly direct: "We had intentional conversations with people who could see their roles would be replaced about how we can make them more impactful doing higher-value work."
This elevation philosophy drives everything at Mili. When operations teams use our Meeting Agent, they stop being note-takers and become strategic advisors. They're identifying opportunities, not transcribing conversations. It's the difference between data entry and client strategy.
The unstructured data breakthrough
Jordan Hutchinson from RFG Advisory captured the industry's core challenge: "We're drowning in data, but we're starved for wisdom."
Previous technology only handled structured data - portfolio values, account numbers. But 90% of an advisor's day is unstructured - emails, conversations, notes. Generative AI changes that game entirely.
This is why our Prospect Research Agent transforms preparation. Instead of scrambling on LinkedIn before meetings, advisors get a comprehensive background delivered automatically. Business moves, family milestones, shared connections - context that turns cold meetings warm.
The agent-to-agent future is closer than you think
Vladimir Voyuts from Dynasty Financial Partners painted the endgame: "Agent-to-agent communication will become standard." Your scheduling agent is talking to your custodian's agent. Your CRM is coordinating with your planning software. An ecosystem of AI agents eliminating friction across the entire wealth management stack.
We're already building these connections. Mili seamlessly integrates with CRMs, Financial Planning tools, Custodians, and more. The firms with interconnected agents will operate at a fundamentally different efficiency level.
The competitive reality: Move now or fall behind
The conference's underlying message was stark: this isn't optional anymore. As one speaker warned, "The issue isn't being replaced by AI. It's being out-competed by advisors who use AI better."
The timeline is compressed:
- Right now: AI note-taking is table stakes
- Next 12 months: Deploy operational agents or fall behind
- By 2027: Digital workers become the norm
But here's what matters most: the gap between early adopters and laggards is widening daily. The 60% adopting AI aren't experimenting - they're transforming. They're delivering better client experiences, operating more efficiently, and growing faster.
At our Table #10 booth, advisors weren't asking "Is AI secure?" anymore. They asked, "How quickly can we implement?" and "Which process should we automate first?" The shift from skepticism to urgency was palpable.
What this means for your firm today
RIA Edge Summit 2025 will be remembered as the moment wealth management stopped debating AI and started racing to implement it. For those ready to move, the path is clear:
- Start where you have the most pain (usually meeting notes or scheduling)
- Focus on elevation, not replacement, with your team
- Choose solutions that work with your existing setup
- Build momentum with quick wins
At Mili, we're helping hundreds of RIA firms live in 2026 today. While others discuss what's coming, our clients are already there - automating workflows, elevating their teams, and focusing on what truly matters: their clients.
The agent revolution isn't coming. It's here. And the firms that move now will define the industry's next decade.
Ready to see what 2026 looks like today? Discover how Mili's AI agents for wealth advisors are transforming RIA firms across the country.