Regulatory & Compliance | 09.18.26

Firms Cheer FINRA's Communications Plan but Call for More AI Clarity

by: Melanie Waddell

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) proposed changes to Rule 2210 would replace blanket pre-approval requirements for retail communications with a risk-based system, while treating AI-generated content under the same regulatory standards as human-created material. Commenting financial firms generally supported the technology-neutral approach but sought clearer guidance on AI governance, human review, testing, monitoring and recordkeeping. In its comments, Fidelity asked FINRA to distinguish customer searches and chatbot prompts from formal incoming correspondence subject to supervision requirements. Schwab and Cetera emphasized that firms should remain responsible for communications regardless of how they are created. Firms also want AI-enabled supervisory processes to be allowed with appropriate human oversight without automatically triggering additional regulatory obligations.

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