When Advice Isn’t Trusted: Privacy, Transparency, and Accountability Risks Driving AI Mistrust and Consumer Resistance in Financial Advisory Services
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The application of AI in financial planning services has the potential to enhance universal access to financial services. However, AI still faces common consumer mistrust and resistance, hindering the long-term sustainability of AI-powered financial planning. This research aims to explain why consumers resist AI in financial planning and the mechanisms that lead to this resistance and negative customer behavior. This research developed a conceptual model by integrating the S-O-B-C framework with Innovation Resistance Theory, AI ethical risks, and social influence that influence AI mistrust and intention to resist, which lead to negative outcomes such as negative word-of-mouth and customer disloyalty in the context of digital financial planning services in Thailand. The research collected data from a sample of 420 persons and the data was analyzed using PLS-SEM. The research identified social influence and the risks associated with AI transparency and accountability as primary factors contributing to AI mistrust, whereas privacy risk serves as a more fundamental catalyst for resistance. This resistance contributes to negative word-of-mouth and leads to customer disloyalty. It emphasizes that developing sustainable AI financial advisors must go beyond technically secure design to transparent, accountable, and socially legitimate governance to maintain long-term relationships with customers in the digital financial system.
Source: Sustainability
DOI: 10.3390/su18031354
Authors: Pichit Sungkarungsri, Supaporn Kiattisin
Institution: Mahidol University
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems and Management
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,896
OpenAlex ID: W7126059240