Questrade now allows AI assistants, like Claude and ChatGPT, to draft trades — and even execute orders. Here's what Canadian investors need to know

The ability to transact on your behalf is part of Questrade’s Flows program — a tool that turns a strategy described in plain language into an automation that can run and transact on behalf of the client.

For investors, Questrade’s introduction of AI-led order execution is a big leap away from an individual investor asking a chatbot for a list of the best assets to hold in a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). But before you give any artificial learning model or algorithm access to your savings, it’s critical to understand how Questrade’s recent launch builds upon the current use of AI in the personal finance industry.

How are Canadians already using AI to manage money?

In a 2024 survey by the Bank of Montreal (BMO), 33% of Canadians said they use AI to help manage their finances, rising to 55% among Gen Z. Among those users, 42% said they use it to identify new investment strategies, even though 68% confessed that AI missed the emotional triggers and lifestyle decisions that can influence financial planning.

While a significant portion of Canadians are adopting AI as a planning tool, financial institutions are moving even faster. A joint report from Canada’s federal banking regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) found that 70% of federally regulated financial institutions expected to be using AI by 2026.

Which Canadian firms use AI for analysis, planning and trading?

Most AI in Canadian finance works behind the scenes or with a professional in the loop.

That means AI is already integrated into many of the finance brands Canadians currently use and trust. To appreciate the proliferation of AI among Canadian financial firms, here’s a few examples:

Trading: RBC Capital Markets, the investment banking arm of Royal Bank of Canada (TSXL RY), runs Aiden, an electronic trading platform for institutional clients that uses deep reinforcement learning to adapt to changing market conditions in real time.

Analysis: Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX: TD) launched TD AI Prism in June 2025, an in-house foundation model designed to predict customer needs and personalize banking. TD says the model runs on its secure cloud platform, so customer data doesn’t leave the bank.

Planning: d1g1t, a Toronto-based wealth technology provider, launched a connector on July 20, 2026 that lets financial advisors ask Claude, ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot to pull a household’s holdings, summarize year-to-date performance or flag mandate breaches.

Retail investing: Wealthsimple, a Toronto-based online investment platform, says it uses AI in chat assistants, voice agents and analysis tools. But its own disclosure notes these tools can’t consider your individual financial situation, goals or risk tolerance.

What sets Questrade’s move apart is that it places a general-purpose AI assistant — one you choose — directly between you and the market. Not only is the AI tool not proprietary to Questrade — so investing analysis isn’t the sole function — but there’s no professional vetting or checking what the AI chat advises.

What safeguards exist when AI touches your trades?

Questrade says its AI connection can’t skip an order preview and can’t place, change or cancel an order without your approval on its mobile app. Plus, any sign-in to your account is through Questrade’s own login page, so the AI tool never sees your password.

Still, the fine print included with this launch is something you need to pay attention to. Questrade states that an AI agent’s responses, analysis and orders come from that agent, not Questrade, and aren’t Questrade’s advice or recommendation. It also says it doesn’t control, monitor or take responsibility for how your AI agent uses your data.

What safeguards exist within the industry?

To be clear, using or not using AI doesn’t exempt a firm from following financial rules and regulations. Guidance from the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), the umbrella group of provincial and territorial securities regulators, says responsibility for trade execution doesn’t change when AI is used, and that recommendations must suit the client based on know-your-client information. That framework governs registered firms — not the chatbot you connect to your account.

But that doesn’t mean AI-initiated trades aren’t valid. Canadian investors need to know: If an AI-assisted trade goes badly, there’s no backstop. The Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), which protects client property if a member firm fails, doesn’t cover losses due to poor advice or drops in an asset’s value (for any reason).

So, should Canadians trust AI with their financial future?

At the crux of the AI debate is how easy these tools are to use: Making it easier than it should be to set up and execute.