In today’s advisory practices, data is everywhere—but without the right tools, it’s just noise. At its Elevate 2025 conference, Envestnet unveiled two major AI innovations—Generative Business Intelligence (Gen BI) and Insights AI—designed to convert that clamor into real-time, workflow-embedded intelligence. With $6.5 trillion in assets flowing through its platform, Envestnet isn’t merely keeping pace with innovation—it’s setting the standard.
In an interview with The Wealth Advisor’s Scott Martin, Jeremi Karnell, Head of Envestnet Data Solutions, discussed the firm’s latest AI advancements, the role of data in transforming advisor workflows, and how Envestnet is integrating next-generation capabilities directly into the tools advisors use every day.
Turning Data Into Action
At the heart of Envestnet’s recent innovation is a clear mandate: eliminate friction, boost productivity, and surface insights that matter. Karnell’s team processes what he calls “the digital exhaust” from trillions in assets—data drawn not only from brokerage, exchange-traded fund (ETF), and mutual fund flows, but also from insurance, annuities, and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms. That information fuels two distinct analytics engines.
“One is business intelligence. These are diagnostic and descriptive analytics—so, what happened and why,” Karnell explains. “And then there’s the decision intelligence analytics, which are predictive. What’s going to happen, and what might they do about it?”
Those decision-support tools now generate about 25 million insights daily, providing a foundation for two AI-powered capabilities that Envestnet introduced this year: Generative Business Intelligence (Gen BI) and Insights AI.
Each tool addresses a specific advisor pain point. Gen BI allows users to ask questions in plain language and receive dashboards or reports instantly. Previously, a request to customize data visualizations required a formal service arrangement that added delays, costs, and developer lift. “We wanted to solve that,” Karnell says. “All—again, instantaneous, real time—does not require professional services engagement, does not take us time to build. It’s solving that in a very elegant way.”
Removing Friction, Not Control
The second major development—Insights AI—tackles a more subtle challenge: the cognitive burden that comes with endless dashboards and benchmarking tools. “We generate 25 million insights a day, and a lot of our advisors sort through those insights through a dashboard, sort of a hunt-and-gather approach,” Karnell says. “That leads to decision fatigue.”
Rather than requiring advisors to adapt to a rigid interface, Insights AI enables them to interact with their data via natural language queries. Want to identify top clients for tax overlay solutions? Curious about which accounts may be ripe for managed money transitions? Advisors can now ask relevant questions directly and receive targeted, contextual answers—along with suggested client communication materials and next steps.
“It’s about putting in place a different experience—not to replace the dashboards, but in addition to the dashboards,” Karnell says. “It gives home office users and advisors just another way to access very, very valuable insights.”
The layered experience—enhancing rather than replacing existing workflows—underscores Envestnet’s advisor-centric approach. Rather than being built in isolation, tools are designed to integrate directly into workflows advisors already use. “We just seamlessly integrated Insights into the UMP trading platform and into Tamarac,” Karnell says, noting that full integration across systems is a top priority.
The firm’s commitment to embedded innovation ensures that advisors don’t need to learn new systems or juggle disconnected tools. Instead, they gain intuitive, powerful enhancements inside the interfaces they already know—saving time and increasing adoption.
AI That’s Compliant, Scalable, and Built for Advisors
As use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT becomes more common, many advisors are balancing an increasing amount of curiosity with caution. Many off-the-shelf solutions can present problems, and tools built outside of firm infrastructure often lack compliance oversight and might create legal exposure.
To address that gap, Envestnet’s AI tools—Gen BI and Insights AI—are reviewed by compliance and AI governance teams before launch. “When they become active and turned on at the enterprise level, they will have gone through their legal and compliance and AI governance committees,” Karnell says. This institutional vetting aims to make Envestnet’s AI solutions reliable for real advisor work, not just experimentation.
By combining familiar user experiences with private, secure, firm-specific data, Envestnet gives advisors the confidence to use AI in real workflows without introducing risk. That balance between capability and compliance is one of the most powerful differentiators in Envestnet’s platform strategy.
Scaling with Intelligence Not Complexity
While many firms talk about data as an asset, few are able to deploy it with precision. Envestnet stands apart by offering tools that not only interpret massive datasets but translate those insights into timely, actionable recommendations.
“The reality is that every client interaction that an advisor has creates a mountain of data,” Karnell says. “Most firms only tap into a sliver of its potential. The most successful firms are the ones that don’t just collect data, but they wield it really as a strategic asset.”
Envestnet’s long-term vision for advisor enablement includes three strategic areas: tighter platform integration, support for new data sources, and advancement into fully realized agentic AI—a phase where AI not only interprets data but takes action based on it.
“We already have checked the box on the thinking side,” Karnell explains. “The agentic workflow that we put into place for Insights AI is doing exactly that.”
Agentic AI means more than spewing out recommendations or vague input when prompted—it refers to systems that execute small, repeatable tasks without human intervention. For example, scheduling client meetings based on insights, prefilling proposal documents, or triggering follow-up workflows inside CRMs to reduce administrative drag.
“Allowing AI to begin to be leveraged in that way is a force multiplier,” Karnell says. “It’s just going to allow [advisors] to continue to focus on the things that they do best, which is engage very intimately with their customers on very important topics.”
The Platform Advantage
What makes Envestnet exceptional as a TAMP partner isn’t just the scale of its data or the sophistication of its AI—it’s the commitment to helping advisors evolve with the platform not around it.
Existing interfaces, such as Tamarac and the unified managed platform, remain central to the advisor experience, further solidifying that none of the innovations disrupt or dismantle existing tools. Rather than asking advisors to adopt unfamiliar systems or reinvent how they work, Envestnet meets them where they are and enhances what they already trust. That approach minimizes adoption risk, simplifies training, and accelerates ROI—all critical factors for advisory teams managing complex client relationships.
Unlocking What’s Next
As the AI conversation matures from novelty to necessity, Envestnet’s example offers a powerful message: real innovation supports the advisor, respects compliance, and adds value immediately. The firm’s dual focus on business intelligence and decision intelligence, now supercharged with AI, gives advisors more than just information—it gives them leverage.
Whether it’s surfacing next-best actions, streamlining reporting, or eventually automating small but time-consuming tasks, Envestnet is delivering tools that are smart, secure, and scalable. More importantly, those tools are built to help advisors serve clients more effectively, not just manage data more efficiently.
With integration accelerating across platforms, features evolving in line with advisor workflows, and compliance frameworks fully in place, Envestnet isn’t waiting for the future of AI—it’s already delivering it at scale.
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Disclosures
The information, analysis, and opinions expressed herein are for general information only. Nothing contained herein is intended to constitute legal, tax, securities, or investment advice, nor an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment, nor a solicitation of any type. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Potential transactions identified by Envestnet’s AI tools are based on concentrated positions, concentrated asset classes, and/or high cash allocations but do not include a fee analysis or other factors that should be taken into account when considering brokerage versus advisory accounts. Potential transactions identified by the tools discussed are for informational purposes only and are not to be construed as an instruction to take any specific action. Envestnet, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates are not responsible for any decisions or recommendations you may provide to your clients.
Intended for investment professional use only.
