Copilot and ChatGPT lead AI tools named in large RIA job posts

19.4% of large independent RIAs that posted job openings in the third quarter named an AI tool in at least one, or 39 of 201 firms, up from 1.1% two years earlier. The figures come from research by Caddi, a Seattle startup that sells AI agents to automate back-office work, shared with InvestmentNews.

The named tools are the general-purpose ones, with Copilot appearing in postings at 34 firms, ChatGPT at 32 and Claude at 27, according to Caddi's 2026 State of AI at Enterprise RIAs. Zocks, the only advisor-specific tool among the most-named according to the research, appeared at seven, level with Gemini and behind the eight firms seeking OpenAI's GPT models directly. Another 41 firms mentioned AI without naming a product.

For a practice hiring client-facing staff, the postings suggest candidates rarely arrive with experience in advisor-specific AI, since the skills named are the ones used across corporate America. Training on the tooling lands with the hiring firm, not the resume. Caddi's study covers the 455 largest independent wealth management RIAs ranked by SEC Form ADV assets and draws on job postings since late 2023.

Eight of the 10 largest independents have posted at least one job naming an AI tool, and 63.6% of firms with $25 billion to $100 billion have done so, Caddi found. The share drops to 26.5% at $10 billion to $25 billion, about one in 10 between $2.5 billion and $10 billion, and zero below $2.5 billion. Across all 455 firms studied, 76 have posted at least one job mentioning AI since late 2023.

In a separate Caddi survey of 17 operations leaders at RIAs with more than $1 billion in assets, 53% said their firm pays for an advisor notetaker such as Jump, Zocks or Zeplyn.