AI Trading Brings the Highest Returns for One in Four Investors

By AltIndex Research · 3 min read · March 16, 1:22 pm

Over the past few years, AI trading has become one of the hottest trends in the financial world, helping investors spot opportunities, make faster decisions, and reduce risks in volatile markets. While some were initially sceptical, AI-powered trading has proven to be a game-changer.

According to data presented by AltIndex.com, AI-driven trading and portfolio optimization was the most profitable AI use case in finance last year, delivering the highest returns for one in four investors.

AI Trading Beats AI-Improved Customer Service and Reports, 25% of Investors See the Highest ROI

While many investors initially worried about artificial intelligence making mistakes, increasing volatility, or even causing market crashes, AI systems showed they can analyze huge amounts of data in seconds, spot patterns, and adjust to market conditions, turning doubt into widespread adoption. As AI technology keeps improving, it is no longer just an option but a must-have tool for investors who want to stay ahead.

According to Nvidia’s State of AI in Financial Services 2025 survey, trading and portfolio optimization was the leading generative AI use case in financial services last year, bringing the highest returns for 25% of investors, more than any other AI application in finance.

In comparison, around 20% of investors saw the best results from AI-powered customer service. At the same time, only 11% named report generation and document processing their most profitable AI use, half as many as AI trading.

AI Trading Adoption More Than Doubled in a Year, Reaching 38%

AI-powered tools, such as trading bots, alternative data platforms, and AI-driven investment strategies, have made trading faster, smarter, and more accessible, drawing in a wave of new users. While their number has steadily increased in the past few years, 2024 saw an especially big jump.

According to Nvidia's survey, 38% of investors used AI for trading and portfolio optimization last year, more than double the 15% in 2023. This also shows that AI trading is still expanding, with even more growth expected in the future.

Beyond trading, financial services, in general, saw a massive adoption of AI use in 2024. While AI was used across the sector in many ways, the biggest increase was in customer experience and engagement, where 60% of respondents used AI in 2024, up from just 25% the year before.

Other popular AI applications included report generation, investment research, and document processing, which were used by over 50% of firms, double their share from the previous year. Meanwhile, synthetic data generation, coding assistance, software development, AI-powered marketing, and enterprise research were adopted by around 40% of respondents, also twice as many as the year before.