Catenaa, Saturday, October 24, 2026- More than half of US single-family offices say that AI is essential for operations, but the majority do not see measurable savings.
A BlackRock survey found that 56% of respondents say AI is either core to operations or increasingly important.
BlackRock surveyed 206 single-family offices across the Americas in partnership with Preqin between July and August 2026. Together, the participating organizations represented approximately $491 billion in investable assets.
AI adoption varies considerably by family office size. Among those overseeing more than $1 billion, 75% consider the technology central or increasingly relevant to their operations. The corresponding figure falls to 46% among offices managing less than $1 billion.
Meanwhile, the BlackRock survey also found that 43% of respondents report no measurable operating-cost savings to date, 29% say it is too early to assess, and only 18% report operating-cost reductions.
Moreover, the survey found that AI is proving particularly impactful in investment research, as cited by 70% of respondents. Other notable use cases include reporting and scenario analysis, cited by 47% and 41%, respectively.
BlackRock said that although investment research is the top use case for AI among offices, newer and older offices differ in how they use it.
It found that newer family offices are more likely to use AI for reporting (57% vs 41%) and for financial planning (30% vs 18%).
“Less than one-tenth of respondents (9%) say AI is extensively integrated into investment decision-making, and more than half (51%) say it is of limited use (41%) or not used at all (10%) when it comes to making investment decisions.” BlackRock Survey found.
Furthermore, Jeff Shen, BlackRock’s co-chief investment officer and co-head of Systematic Active Equities, said that AI is exceptionally good at absorbing large amounts of information, interpreting unstructured data and helping investors ask questions faster.
“So it’s no surprise that research is the leading use case for family offices. AI is clearly lowering the cost of intelligence,” he said.
Shen said that the cost of making good decisions is another matter. Still, easier access to answers does not automatically create an investment edge, especially as more investors gain access to increasingly powerful models.
The survey results reveal an exciting trend: investors are embracing AI for investment research much more quickly than for decision-making. This momentum is especially notable among newer family offices—established within the last 20 years—and larger ones managing over $1 billion in assets. This shift highlights the growing confidence and innovation in the investment landscape!
“We expect these differences to narrow over time as the technology becomes more accessible and the cost of using it continues to fall,” Shen said.
