AI adoption is accelerating in family offices, but younger heirs are pushing data into AI systems without securing approval from founding-generation principals who built privacy architectures around their wealth.

Usage of AI for operational tasks or investment analysis in family offices rose to 22% from 13% in one year; the number of offices using AI for investment performance reporting more than doubled in 12 months, according to a Citi Institute report based on interviews with family office principals and CIOs across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Junior staff and younger family members are the primary advocates driving AI adoption, experimenting with tools and demonstrating value to older generations—while in some cases data is already flowing through AI systems via SaaS providers or daily devices without formal principal approval, the report noted.

An estimated $83 trillion in private wealth will change hands over the next two to three decades, yet communication breakdowns are cited by 33% of respondents as the greatest source of conflict in ultra-wealthy families—and the generational divide over AI mirrors this broader pattern: founding-generation principals emphasize data privacy and institutional caution, while the third generation treats AI as foundational rather than experimental.