Artificial intelligence is no longer something consumers are experimenting with. It is something they expect. A new report from TD Bank shows that 78% of Americans are now using AI in their daily lives, with more than half using it to help manage their finances. But while adoption is accelerating quickly, trust is not keeping pace. Only 18% of consumers say they would trust AI to make financial decisions on its own. That tension is shaping how financial institutions, including those in credit and collections, will need to deploy AI going forward.
The big picture: AI adoption is accelerating fast
The data signals a clear shift from curiosity to reliance.
- 78% of consumers report using AI tools regularly
- 67% say they are more proficient with AI than a year ago
- 55% now use AI to help manage personal finances, up from just 10% last year
Adoption is widespread across generations. While Gen Z leads, majorities of Gen X and Baby Boomers are also using AI, reinforcing that this is not a niche trend but a mainstream shift.
For collection operations and financial services, this means consumers are increasingly expecting faster, more personalized, and more predictive interactions.
Where AI fits today: Behind the scenes, not in charge
Consumers are drawing a clear boundary around where they are comfortable with AI.
They are most comfortable when AI is used to:
- Detect fraud
- Track spending
- Calculate credit scores
- Support routine account activity
Roughly two-thirds of consumers are comfortable with these types of use cases.
But that comfort drops significantly when AI moves into decision-making roles. High-stakes areas like financial recommendations, dispute resolution, or account decisions still require human involvement in the eyes of most consumers.
In fact, 81% of consumers say they want some level of human involvement when contacting their bank for support.
Trust is growing, but it is conditional
Trust in AI is improving, but slowly and selectively.
- 62% of consumers say they trust AI to provide reliable information, up from roughly half last year
- Only 18% trust it to act independently on financial decisions
Consumers are not rejecting AI. They are redefining its role.
They want:
- Transparency around how AI is used
- Strong data security and privacy protections
- Clear human accountability for outcomes
Nearly half of respondents said their confidence would increase if AI-driven recommendations were reviewed by a human before being delivered.
What this means for collections and customer interactions
For professionals in credit, collections, and customer service environments, the implications are immediate.
AI is becoming a baseline expectation for:
- Driving efficiency in workflows
- Supporting agents with real-time insights
- Automating repetitive servicing tasks
But the data reinforces that AI should enhance human interactions, not replace them.
Consumers are signaling a preference for a hybrid model where:
- AI handles speed and data processing
- Humans handle judgment, empathy, and accountability
This aligns closely with how many operations are already experimenting with AI in areas like call summarization, compliance monitoring, and predictive outreach.
The bottom line
AI adoption has reached a tipping point, but trust remains the gating factor.
The institutions that succeed will not be the ones that automate the most. They will be the ones that deploy AI in ways that are transparent, accountable, and clearly anchored by human oversight.
In other words, the winning model is not AI-only. It is human-led, AI-enhanced.
