Welcome to the first edition of Simple Signals.
Family offices are moving into a new phase of digital change. AI is already influencing how teams make decisions, surface insights, manage data and run daily operations. Yet most of the public conversation still sits at the extremes — breathless hype on one end, dense technical detail on the other.
Simple Signals sits somewhere between the two.
This publication is for the people inside family offices who want straightforward, human explanations of what AI actually means for their work.
Each month, we’ll look at AI through the same lens we use across Simple:
People, process, technology – the three layers that decide whether AI becomes a real advantage or just another tool left on the shelf.
If you’d like the broader landscape, our new AI Hub launches this month, mapping models, use cases, tools and frameworks for the family office world.
Insights from the 2025 Software & Tech Report
The 2025 edition of Simple’s Software & Technology Report shows a clear acceleration in AI adoption. Most platforms now offer some form of AI capability, but the most interesting shifts are happening beneath the surface.
A few key signals stood out:
AI is becoming the base layer of new tools
It’s less a standalone feature and more the plumbing behind data extraction, reconciliation, document intelligence and decision support.
Data management is moving to the centre
Family offices are prioritising data quality and workflow automation ahead of dashboards and visual reporting.
The question has shifted from “what can AI do?” to “do we trust our data enough to use it?”
Curiosity is rising, but so is hesitation
Most teams are asking similar questions:
Where do we start? What is safe? Which workflows make sense? How much is too much?
The offices making the most progress aren’t chasing every new tool. They’re rethinking how people and processes are set up around the tools they already have.
For family offices, the real advantage comes from good foundations: trusted data, clear workflows and people who know how to use the tools they have. These shifts point to where that work begins.
And what does the landscape of vendors look like? We decided to map it:
If you want to dig deeper into the full findings, the report is available below.
Workshop notes: What we’re learning in the room
Over the past few months we’ve run workshops in Zurich, London, Copenhagen and with private teams globally. The conversations have been practical, honest and very human.
A few themes keep coming up.
“Where do we even start?”
Many teams feel less overwhelmed by AI itself than by the sense that they’re falling behind.
We bring it back to basics: good adoption starts with one workflow, not twenty.
AI is seen as a purely technical project
More offices are realising that the main barrier is mindset, not infrastructure.
Skills, trust and clarity of purpose often matter more than the specific model or vendor.
People want to see it, not just hear about it
Teams are asking for live demos, prompts they can try, process maps and simple checklists.
The conversation is moving from awareness to application.
If you’d like to join an upcoming session or run one with your team, we’re always happy to talk. Email us at hi@andsimple.co
From the field
Each month we’ll share a short perspective from someone working closely with family offices: the operators, advisers and experts who see AI adoption up close.
This month, we touched base with Toby Usnik, who has been helping family offices build AI literacy across generations.
2025 has been the year AI literacy goes mainstream. Families have moved from exploring ideas to putting them into practice and not just in operations, but in governance and social impact too.
What I’ve seen most clearly is that real adoption depends on shared understanding. Teaching AI 101 across teams and generations has shown how quickly confidence grows once people speak the same language. The families making the most progress are the ones investing in practical learning and building cultures that match innovation with responsibility.
Quick signals
A few things on our radar this month:
1. The state of AI in 2025
McKinsey’s latest global survey shows almost every organisation now uses AI somewhere, but fewer than 10 percent have scaled agent-based systems.
2. Generative AI crosses 50 percent workplace adoption
US data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows usage rising from 45 percent to 55 percent in one year.
3. California passes new AI safety law
SB 53 requires large AI developers to publicly disclose safety protocols, signalling accelerating regulation.
4. Anthropic stops a state-backed AI-driven attack
Anthropic says one of its models was used in a coordinated cyber-espionage attempt, detected mid-operation.
5. Five charts on the global state of AI
A Europe-focused briefing showing the US dominance in compute and China’s rise in open-model ecosystems.
6. AI and succession drive FO transformation
Bank of America Private Bank reports 57 percent of family offices now apply AI in strategy or investment work.
7. AI and digital assets rise in UHNW portfolios
BNY finds family offices increasingly pairing AI and crypto as long-term thematic investments.
8. EU signals shift on AI rules
High-risk requirements could be delayed to 2027, with looser limits on training data.
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