AI in the Family Office
AI in the Family Office - Privacy, Efficiency and Institutional Rigor
Download AI in the Family OfficeFamily offices have reached a crucial turning point in their adoption of artificial intelligence. In contrast to institutional investors1, their AI journey is shaped by the need for privacy and a mandate to manage both institutional-grade investments and deeply personal family affairs.
This Citi Institute report is based on numerous in-depth discussions with single-family office principals and chief investment officers (CIOs) across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Our findings highlight significantly different levels of AI adoption. The spectrum ranges from firms with company-wide daily AI usage mandates to those still navigating the fundamental tension between AI’s promise and their families’ cautious stance on data privacy and security.
While family offices have very different needs, they can draw lessons from institutional investors’ AI journey of the past few years, which has evolved from operational efficiency to front-office exploration and, now, agentic AI.
The ideal family office is not one without humans, but one where humans are liberated from repetitive tasks to focus on high-value activities.
Key Takeaways
1. Privacy comes first: Data privacy is non-negotiable for family offices. AI solutions that cannot guarantee data security are unlikely to be adopted.
2. Prime goal is leanness – not (yet) alpha generation: Family offices tend to not focus on AI currently to help drive investment returns, but seek to use AI to automate routine tasks so that small teams can focus on strategy and relationships.
3. Adoption is slow but accelerating: Only 22% of family offices currently use AI for operational tasks or investment analysis, up from 13% in 2024. A significant gap remains compared to institutional investors.
4. Practical applications win: The most successful AI applications solve everyday problems: summarizing documents, transcribing meetings, managing emails and automating reports.
5. Younger generations are driving change: Junior staff and younger family members are the biggest advocates for AI. They experiment, demonstrate value and bring older generations along.
6. Humans stay in charge: Family offices tend to see AI as an assistant that handles the operational burden. Final decisions – especially on investments – always remain with experienced humans.
Survey Highlights
57% are using AI for investment |
22% have automated operational |
16% are using AI for Investment |
Source: Citi Wealth, 2025 Global Family Office Report | ||
