A small business owner just realized they need help with tax planning. Not the basics, they handle those. They need someone who understands the tax implications of expanding from sole proprietorship to S-corp.
They ask ChatGPT: "Who's a good accountant for small business tax planning in Chicago?"
ChatGPT recommends three firms. It mentions specialties, client focus areas, and why each might be a fit. One of those firms books a consultation the next day with a client worth $8,000 in annual fees.
Your firm handles exactly this kind of work. You've been doing it for years. But you weren't recommended, and you'll never know this client was looking.
Financial services live and die on trust
No one hands their money to someone they don't trust. That's been true forever. The financial services industry has always been built on relationships, referrals, and reputation.
What's changing is how people find advisors and accountants when they don't already have one. The "ask a friend" model still works, but not everyone has a friend who uses a financial advisor. Not everyone has a business owner buddy who can recommend an accountant.
Those people are asking AI. "Best financial advisor for retirement planning." "Recommended CPA for freelancers." "Good wealth management firm for small business owners."
And AI doesn't just give them a list. It gives them names with context, explaining why each option might fit their situation. That's not a directory listing. That's a personalized recommendation. In an industry built on trust, that kind of introduction is worth more than any ad you could run.
Why most financial professionals are invisible to AI
Financial services firms tend to have conservative, professional websites. Clean design. Firm history. Services listed. Partner bios. Compliance disclaimers everywhere.
Professional? Absolutely. Distinguishable from every other financial services firm? Not at all.
"We provide comprehensive financial planning, tax services, and wealth management for individuals and businesses." That describes thousands of firms. AI has no idea when to recommend you over any of them.
The compliance mindset that's necessary in finance often results in content that's so carefully worded it says almost nothing. No specific claims. No client stories. No pointed perspective. Everything hedged to the point of being invisible.
Compliance is non-negotiable, obviously. But there's a wide space between "making specific performance promises" (which you shouldn't) and "saying anything meaningful about your expertise" (which you must).
The prompts driving financial client acquisition
Financial queries to AI are almost always need-specific and often location-specific. This plays to the advantage of specialized firms and individual practitioners.
"Best financial advisor for doctors in [city]." "CPA who specializes in real estate investors." "Accountant for Amazon FBA sellers." "Wealth manager for people near retirement with $500K to $1M." "Financial planner for small business owners."
Notice the pattern. These aren't generic. People asking AI for financial help describe their specific situation and want a specific match. The advisor who clearly serves doctors gets the doctor prompt. The CPA who clearly works with real estate investors gets that recommendation.
Large firms try to serve everyone. That's their weakness in AI visibility. A solo advisor or small firm that owns a clear niche can outperform firms ten times their size for the prompts that match their specialty.
What drives AI recommendations in finance
Educational content that demonstrates expertise within compliance boundaries.
You can't promise returns. You can't share specific client outcomes without proper disclaimers. But you can absolutely publish genuinely helpful content about the topics your clients ask about.
"How S-Corp Election Affects Your Self-Employment Tax" is educational, valuable, and fully compliant. It also tells AI that you understand this topic deeply.
Tax strategy guides. Retirement planning frameworks. Financial checklists for specific life events. FAQ content about common financial questions. All of this builds a body of evidence that AI uses to assess your expertise.
One well-researched article about "tax planning for freelancers earning over $100K" can drive more AI recommendations than a year of generic social media posts.
Review and reputation signals.
Google reviews mentioning specific services. Testimonials on your website (with proper permissions). Ratings on financial services directories. Each of these gives AI a data point about your credibility and specialty.
Encourage clients to mention what service they came to you for and what type of financial situation they're in. "Michael helped us plan for early retirement. His knowledge of tax-efficient withdrawal strategies was exactly what we needed." That kind of review tells AI volumes.
Niche authority and credentials.
CFP, CPA, EA, ChFC... your designations matter, but only if they're clearly displayed and connected to your specialty. AI uses these as credibility markers.
Beyond credentials, niche authority comes from consistently showing up as a resource for a specific audience. Guest posts in industry publications. Quoted in articles about financial topics. Speaking at events for your target client type.
A CPA who writes a monthly column for a real estate investor newsletter builds more AI authority for real estate tax questions than a CPA with triple the credentials but no visible specialty.
Clear client profiles on your website.
Who do you serve best? Many financial professionals resist narrowing this down. "What if a great client comes along who doesn't fit our niche?"
They still can. But AI needs clarity. "We help small business owners with $500K to $5M in revenue optimize their tax strategy and build long-term wealth" is something AI can match to specific prompts. "We provide financial services" is invisible.
Create pages or sections dedicated to each client type you serve. "Financial planning for physicians." "Tax strategy for e-commerce businesses." "Retirement planning for small business owners." Each page helps AI match you to the right queries.
Building financial services AI visibility
Identify your highest-value prompts. Which questions, if AI answered them with your firm's name, would bring your ideal clients? Start there.
Create compliant, substantive content. Work with your compliance team to develop educational content that demonstrates expertise without crossing regulatory lines. Focus on topics where your clients have the most questions.
Build your review strategy. Make it part of your client offboarding or annual review process to request detailed reviews. Guide clients on what to mention (service type, their situation, what was helpful).
Sharpen your niche positioning. Update your website to clearly state who you serve best. Not at the expense of other clients, but to give AI (and prospective clients) a clear signal.
Track visibility against competitors. Sign up for Mentionable. See which prompts in your specialty and geography mention your firm. See where competitors show up. Identify the gaps that represent real revenue opportunities.
The referral model hasn't changed. It's just gone digital.
Your best clients still come from trust. From someone, or something, telling a prospect that you're the right person for their financial situation.
AI is the newest version of that referral. And unlike your human referral network, it operates around the clock, across your entire market, fielding questions from people who are actively looking for exactly what you offer.
Make sure AI knows what you do and who you do it for. Start with Mentionable. See where you stand. And build the visibility that turns AI recommendations into your most reliable source of qualified clients.