TL;DR. Most firms keep the documents that matter, policy papers, provider packs, research, factfinds, client files and templates, in SharePoint, where the firm's AI could never reach them. Advisers are closing that gap by connecting SharePoint to their AI, so it reads straight from the firm's own files. Instead of opening folders to find the right document, an adviser asks a question and gets the answer, drawn from the firm's SharePoint library, with the file it came from. This guide explains what it means to connect SharePoint to AI, how advisers use it per client and across the whole book, where the adviser stays in control, and how firms get started.

Key facts

The short answer

Financial advisers connect SharePoint to their AI so they can ask a plain-English question and get an answer pulled from the firm's own documents, rather than opening folders to find the right file. "Which of my clients have factfinds that are more than a year old?" "What does our centralised investment proposition say about cash holdings?" "Summarise the latest suitability report in this client's folder." At AdvisoryAI, the adviser connects their SharePoint through a Microsoft sign-in, and Atlas is where they ask, reading the documents the firm already keeps. The point is not to move the firm's files or replace the adviser's judgment. It is to let the firm's own library answer questions, so the time goes on the client instead of the search.

The problem this solves

A firm's knowledge is spread across a lot of documents. Provider information, research notes, template libraries, compliance policies and years of client paperwork mostly live in SharePoint, because that is where the firm decided to keep them. That is sensible for storage. It is a problem for retrieval, because finding the one paragraph that answers a question means knowing which folder it sits in and opening the file to read it.

The research shows how little time is left for the client once that kind of admin takes its share. The 2025 IFA DNA study from Fidelity Adviser Solutions, based on 209 UK advisers, found that advisers spend only 33% of their time in client meetings, with 20% of the day on preparing reports and plans and a further 18% on compliance and admin (IFA DNA, NextWealth, 2025). Nearly three quarters, 72%, said a reduced administrative burden would most improve their working day.

Hunting through document folders is part of that burden, and it has a second cost. When a policy document or a client's own paperwork is hard to find, the answer gets approximated from memory, and in a regulated setting an approximation is a risk. The firm already holds the right answer. The problem is reaching it.

Working from your own files versus reaching for them by hand

What "connecting SharePoint to AI" actually means

This is not a copy of your files into another system, and it is not a search box over a folder. It is your AI reading the documents the firm already keeps in SharePoint.

At AdvisoryAI, an adviser connects their own SharePoint through a Microsoft sign-in, so access follows their own Microsoft account. Once connected, the integration works in two ways depending on the question.

For questions that span the whole book, like "which clients have factfinds more than a year old" or "who has ISA allowances left", Atlas searches across the firm's SharePoint documents directly. The documents do not need to be attached to individual clients first. Atlas queries SharePoint in the background and returns the matching clients and references.

For a deeper look at a specific client's documents, like summarising a suitability report or pulling key figures from a provider pack, the adviser brings that document into Atlas. Once it is there, Atlas can answer detailed questions about it, and because the answer comes with the file it was drawn from, the adviser can open the source and check it.

This sits alongside the firm's other records rather than replacing them. Atlas already reads the firm's meeting history, as advisers use for recalling past client meetings, and works across the back-office system. SharePoint adds the firm's document library to that same conversation, so an answer can draw on the meeting, the client's paperwork and a firm policy at once. That whole-practice reach, grounded in the firm's own data, is the point.

Across the book: find the documents that need attention

The larger gain is a question no adviser could answer by hand: what is true across every client's documents at once. Because the integration connects to SharePoint through Microsoft, Atlas can search across the firm's documents without the adviser opening each folder in turn, and without attaching individual documents first.

Common asks:

• "Which clients have factfinds that are more than a year old?"

• "Who has ISA allowances left?"

• "Which clients have insurance documents that have expired?"

• "Find every risk questionnaire older than twelve months"

The answers come back with the matching clients and the documents they were drawn from. That turns a compliance chore that firms usually do by sampling into something the whole book can be checked for in a question, which is capacity the firm gets back and a review cycle that stays current.

Per client: go deeper on a specific document

The everyday use is on a single client. Before a review, rather than opening the factfind and the last report to reconstruct the picture, the adviser brings the client's documents into Atlas and asks.

Advisers ask it like this:

• "Summarise the latest suitability report in this client's folder"

• "What did the last factfind record about their capacity for loss?"

• "Pull the key figures from the provider pack the client sent over"

• "What is outstanding on this client's file before we can proceed?"

Because the answer is grounded in the client's own documents, the adviser walks in with the paperwork already read, and can open any source Atlas cites. That is the difference between prep that means opening five files and prep that means asking one question.

For paraplanners: the documents, without the chase

This is not only an adviser tool. A paraplanner building a report needs the client's paperwork, and today that often means a chase-up email to the adviser or a hunt through a shared drive. With SharePoint connected, the documents the report is built from come straight from the firm's own library, so the context arrives with the case rather than after it. When the report is finished, it can be saved back to the client's SharePoint folder on demand, so the firm's system of record stays where the firm keeps it.

Where the adviser stays in control

This matters in a regulated setting, so it is worth being direct. The AI reads and drafts. The adviser reviews and decides. A record that supports advice still needs a human check, and under the FCA's Consumer Duty a firm has to be able to show it is delivering good client outcomes, which rests on records the adviser stands behind (FCA Consumer Duty, 2023).

Access follows the adviser's own Microsoft sign-in, so Atlas reads the documents through the same connection the adviser already has. And because each answer comes with the document it was drawn from, check the source when a point is going to drive a decision, the same way you would check a paraplanner's draft. Used this way, the integration removes the hunting, not the judgment.

How firms get started

Firms that get value from this tend to start narrow and expand.

1. Connect one adviser's SharePoint through the Microsoft sign-in on the integrations page. Try a cross-book question first, like which clients have outdated factfinds, to see the breadth before going deep. Watch: Integrating AdvisoryAI with Microsoft SharePoint

2. Pick a client review coming up and bring that client's documents into Atlas. Ask across them before the meeting, so it becomes a habit rather than a novelty. Watch: Pushing documents on AdvisoryAI to Microsoft SharePoint

3. Once one adviser is fluent, bring in the paraplanners. Adoption across the team is what turns time saved into a different working week. Watch: Pushing documents on AdvisoryAI to Microsoft SharePoint

As a reference point on what is achievable, Baris Furlonger at Bluecoat Wealth Management reports report preparation going from four to six hours to under one hour using AdvisoryAI. Reading from the firm's own documents follows the same pattern: the firm's library does the finding, so the adviser can spend the time on the client.

Key terminology

• SharePoint integration. A connection, made through a Microsoft sign-in, that lets the firm's AI read the documents the firm keeps in SharePoint. For cross-book questions, Atlas searches SharePoint directly. For deeper document analysis, the adviser brings the document into Atlas first.

• Cross-client search. Asking a single question across the firm's SharePoint documents at once, for example which clients have out-of-date factfinds, with results grouped by client.

• Back-office system. The adviser's practice management or client record system, for example Intelliflo, Plannr, Curo or XPlan. SharePoint is where the firm keeps its documents, and connects alongside it.

• Atlas. At AdvisoryAI, Atlas is the single place an adviser asks. Once SharePoint is connected, the firm's documents are one of the sources Atlas reads.

Frequently asked questions

How do financial advisers connect SharePoint to AI?

An adviser links their own SharePoint through a Microsoft sign-in on the integrations page. Once connected, they can ask questions that span the whole book, like which clients have outdated factfinds, and Atlas searches across SharePoint directly. For deeper questions about a specific document, the adviser brings that document into Atlas first.

Can AI read documents stored in SharePoint?

Yes. Once SharePoint is connected, the AI can search across the firm's documents for cross-book questions without the adviser opening individual files. For detailed analysis of a specific document, that document is brought into Atlas, and each answer comes with the source document so it can be checked.

Can I ask a question across all my clients' documents at once?

Yes. For questions like "which clients have factfinds more than a year old" or "who has ISA allowances left", Atlas searches across the firm's SharePoint documents directly. The documents do not need to be attached to individual clients first. Results come back with the matching clients and the documents they were drawn from.

Does the AI change or move my SharePoint files?

No. For cross-book queries, the AI searches the documents where they are. For deeper analysis, a document is brought into Atlas, but the original remains untouched in SharePoint. When a finished report is ready, the adviser can save it back to the client's SharePoint folder, but this is a deliberate step, not something that happens in the background.

Is it safe for a regulated firm's client documents?

Access follows the adviser's own Microsoft sign-in, so the AI reads through the connection the adviser already has. The AI reads and drafts, the adviser checks and decides, and under Consumer Duty the firm remains responsible for the records it relies on (FCA, 2023).

Will this replace the paraplanner or the adviser?

No. The value is in the finding and the drafting, the parts that happen around the work. The report, the advice and the client relationship stay with the people accountable for them. The point is to spend less of the day hunting through documents and more of it with clients (IFA DNA, 2025).

Next step

If your firm keeps its documents in SharePoint and your advisers still open folders to find them, this is the workflow to change. Book a demo to see Atlas answer from your own SharePoint documents, or get started for free and connect one client's folder before your next review.