Consumers are prepared to use robo-advice to invest up to £1,000 of their savings but less than a quarter would trust it to replace a professional adviser.

That was the conclusion of new research carried out by online investment site True Potential Investor.

The polling showed that 65% of investors would use robo-advice up to £1,000 before opting for a professional adviser. Fewer than 10% would invest more than £5,000 based on ‘robo-advice’.

Meanwhile only 22% of investors would trust ‘robo-advice’ as a full replacement to a professional financial adviser.

The digital approach to financial advice has been widely adopted in the US, but David Harrison, managing partner at True Potential, said UK investors have yet to see technology that can truly be classified as robo-advice.

Despite an industry rush to unveil ‘robo-advice’ services, True Potential believes a hybrid model will emerge.

Mr Harrison said: “Technology certainly has a big role in the future of personal financial management and advice, but we are not there yet. None of the technology on the market can truly be described as robo-advice, which would require very sophisticated artificial intelligence to work properly.

“Technology enables consumers to make small investments where it would not make sense to go through an adviser. Since we launched impulseSave, more than £30m has been saved by consumers in small amounts without the need for advice.”

At True Potential’s financial adviser conference in January, 80% of advisers said they saw it as an opportunity for their business, not a threat. True Potential expects that consumers will opt for a hybrid model, comprising both technology and face-to-face advice.

David Harrison added: “Robo-advice is not going to replace financial advisers any time soon. For larger investments, I think people will still want to talk to another human being and our research supports this.”

Fifty per cent of respondents to True Potential Investor’s research said they would choose both robo and face-to-face advice depending on the size of the investment.