5 Financial Services Trends Shaping Customer Conversations in 2026

By Cindy Griffin, Financial Services Vertical Marketing Lead at Smart Communications

With the backdrop of global uncertainty in the financial markets, 2026 is sure to be an inflection point for financial services companies, particularly those in wealth management and private banking. As the Great Wealth Transfer marches on, the industry will be seeing trillions moving from older generations to the next generations, and with that shift, there will be changing expectations.

Every year, Smart Communications releases our annual trends report detailing the factors shaping customer conversations globally. In financial services, where customer engagement is evolving alongside regulatory demands, understanding these trends take on heightened importance in an industry where trust, data integrity, and relationship continuity are all mission-critical.

Let's review the five trends most affecting customer conversations in financial services for 2026.

Trend 1: Data Readiness as the Catalyst for AI Innovation in Financial Services

It's no surprise to anyone that works in a data-intense industry like financial services that garbage in means garbage out. But with the rise of AI use in the financial services industry, the imperative to have clean, governed, and usable data becomes paramount. Our 2026 trends report supports this view and informs our first trend: Data readiness is crucial to AI innovation. Without a trusted data foundation, AI projects will fail and result in negative outcomes.

The current reality for many wealth management firms and private banks is that client data is fragmented across PDFs, emails, legacy tools, CRM systems, or wherever an advisor might keep their notes. This means that AI cannot safely scale without strong data governance and data provenance.

Both client expectations and regulatory pressure make this imperative clear:

1. 1. The next generation of wealth holders will demand hyper-personalized experiences.
   2. AI-related regulations will required that data is auditable and data provenance is demonstrable.

Practically speaking, this means that communications like suitability explanations need to be highly tailored to each client and how recommendations were made needs to be memorialized, especially if AI was introduced in the communication in any way.

The bottom line? Financial services firms need to collect structured data right from the start—at the very first point of contact. Once collected, that data becomes the master version that stays consistent as it moves between systems.

This approach pays off in multiple ways. The same reliable data can be used throughout the entire customer journey—from onboarding through ongoing service—making operations more efficient while enabling better personalization. The added benefit is that getting clean data from step one means that AI readiness is built in and not retrofitted later, thus setting a foundation for successful AI innovation in the future.

Trend 2: Incremental Modernization Over “Big Bang” Transformation

For many financial services firms, large scale IT transformations equal significant risk. Regulations like the EU’s DORA, and in the U.S. rules such as SEC Regulation S-P (alongside other cyber/third-party/recordkeeping requirements), raise the stakes by requiring demonstrable controls, rapid incident response, and clear accountability. 

Even when services are outsourced, the regulated firm remains responsible for outcomes. Our 2026 trend report reveals an alternative to “rip-and-replace”: Incremental innovation will become the strategy to successfully implement new technologies while managing risk and reducing tech debt.  

In wealth management, the advisor-to-support staff ratio isn’t scaling linearly. The complexity of new clients grows faster than headcount and systems can handle. And finally, as firms expand and deal with multiple jurisdictions and even more complex clients, the legacy systems are exposed for their fragility.

That’s why many firms are taking the incremental approach to modernization. They’re modernizing conversations first: improving the client and advisor experience where work begins, then layering digital capabilities over existing platforms. Instead of rip-and-replace, firms that combine incremental modernization with an API-led approach ensure seamless interoperability while keeping familiar legacy systems at hand for staff.

When incremental modernization is done well, the outcomes compound:

• • Firms see faster time-to-value because clients are onboarded sooner and service requests are responded to more quickly.
  • API-led integrations allow increased advisor capacity by giving teams back time otherwise spent navigating fragmented tools.
  • Ultimately, incremental modernization lowers enterprise risk while still reducing tech debt through deliberate, stepwise transformation initiatives.

Trend 3: From Chatbots to Agentic AI Embedded in Financial Services Workflows

AI adoption is shifting in the financial services industry. If 2025 was the year of generative AI, 2026 will be the year of agentic AI. Firms that experimented with agentic AI will move multiple agents into production. This highlights our third trend from our 2026 trends report: autonomous and agentic AI will reshape workflows.

What does this mean for financial services?

• • First, we will see AI moving away from standalone chat tools to AI agents handling routine client service requests. This means that AI agents will be able to support tasks in the onboarding of new clients, portfolio or account reviews, and other service requests under specific policy control. 
  • Second, the implications for trust are twofold: First, clients need to trust that AI agents can provide correct information and responses to their requests, which means the data the agents are using must be structured and governed. Second, when AI is used, regulators will want to know, which means that auditability and explainability become paramount.

When financial services firms build reliable AI agents, the business outcomes are evident. Not only will firms see a reduced operational burden as AI agents take on lower-value tasks, but clients will see faster turnaround times to service requests. Ultimately, this allows staff to focus on higher-value, revenue-generating interactions with clients, which increases client engagement and trust. However, even successful firms will need to take care to ensure their regulatory stance remains sound by ensuring that AI use is relevant, explainable, and auditable.

Trend 4: Security and Trust as the Boundaries of Innovation

Building on the idea of trust, our fourth trend explores how security and trust will define the limits of innovation. Cybersecurity is a perennial area of scrutiny by regulators in the financial services industry. And trust—from clients and regulators alike—underpins the entire operation of financial services firms. Thus, innovation needs to coexist and can only succeed within the twin obligations of trust and security.

Financial services firms handle some of the most sensitive and personal data available. So, it makes sense that regulators make this issue a priority when it comes to examinations, as the SEC has done for 2026. Further, clients want to know that their data is being handled securely. Layering on AI further complicates trust and security as clients want to know when AI is being used and regulators want to know when and how AI is being used. Even if regulation is vague or indeterminate, firms need to prepare for future accountability.

How do financial services firms future-proof their operations so that they are functioning with future accountability in mind? In practice, it means:

• • Agentic AI must be designed like any other regulated capability, with clear controls, transparent decisioning, and evidence you can produce on demand.
  • Consent management needs to be embedded into digital journeys, clearly showing when AI is involved, what data is being used, and what clients are authorizing, with consent captured and versioned.
  • Firms need end-to-end audit trails for every interaction, logging agent actions, data sources, outputs, and handoffs to support internal oversight and regulatory examination.
  • Automation must be policy-controlled rather than opaque, with agents operating inside defined guardrails aligned to firm policy.

Trend 5: Ecosystem Convergence Redefines the FS Client Experience

The client experience in financial services used to be just the interaction between the advisor or client service associate and the client. Today, with the rise of multiple communication channels and ease of doing business through mobile technology, the real client experience now spans:

• • Client services
  • Marketing
  • Operations
  • Compliance

Financial services clients are interacting with each of these areas of their financial institutions, and the full client experience is evolving with it. This brings us to our final trend: client experience is going to be redefined through ecosystem convergence.

While financial services clients don't think of their experience in terms of a specific department, transaction, or channel, how they interact with their financial services providers across these areas remains a challenge. The client experience is inconsistent due to disconnected systems. Because information is siloed and systems are not integrated, not only does the client experience suffer, but so does the employee experience.

Firms that successfully confront this challenge break down these silos. Cloud-based platforms, API integrations, and omnichannel orchestration provide an advantage to firms by ensuring information is seamlessly shared across the enterprise.

In turn, this information informs a consistent client experience no matter what type of request or channel, and a “white glove” client experience can mean high-touch from a human combined with seamless, intuitive digital experiences. Additionally, breaking down these silos and integrating the tech ecosystem has the added benefit of increasing client trust and regulatory compliance as data governance, client experience, and even AI converge. 

Conclusion: Turning 2026 Trends into Action for Wealth and Private Banking Leaders

Taken together, these five trends constitute one connected concept:

• • Data readiness enables responsible AI innovation
  • Incremental modernization makes change survivable—and thrivable
  • Agentic workflows raise the bar for accountability
  • Security and trust set the guardrails
  • Tech ecosystem convergence increases consistency and trust

For financial services firms, the stakes are higher and the rewards greater because every interaction carries real value and outsized scrutiny.

Firms that modernize these client experience areas will feel the compounding impact: They will onboard clients faster with cleaner data, empower employees with smarter workflows and fewer swivel-chair moments, and scale growth without sacrificing the “white glove” experience clients demand. In 2026, the winners won’t be the firms that adopt the most AI or pursue transformation for transformation’s sake, but the ones that elevate client experience by operationalizing trust and personalization.

Explore the full 2026 Trends Report for deeper insights!