Orion's Denali AI Aims to End "Swivel-Chair" Advisor Workflow

OMAHA, NE – February 26, 2026 – Orion has officially entered the next phase of the wealthtech AI race, announcing at its Ascent 2026 conference that the enterprise version of its Denali AI platform is now live. The launch, coupled with two new AI Assistants, represents a significant strategic move to streamline advisor productivity by creating a unified intelligence layer across its vast technology ecosystem.

The company aims to solve a persistent problem in the advisory world: the "swivel-chair workflow." Advisors often navigate a maze of disconnected applications and browser tabs to gather client data, prepare for meetings, and generate reports. Orion's solution, Denali AI, embeds a single, integrated prompt screen directly within its platform, designed to eliminate this fragmentation.

“Today, advisors are trapped in a swivel-chair workflow with multiple tabs open, specialized skills needed to stitch together answers, and expensive tools and providers that still leave them hunting for context,” said Reed Colley, President of Orion Advisor Technology, in the announcement. “With Denali AI, advisors spend less time searching for answers and more time advising. That creates capacity to serve more households – without losing the personal touch.”

An Integrated Approach to Intelligence

Unlike standalone AI chatbots or single-purpose tools, Denali AI's core strength lies in its deep integration with Orion’s connected platform. It draws upon trusted, permissioned data from a firm's entire operational stack—including portfolio management, financial planning, CRM, and reporting tools—to provide contextually aware answers and automate complex tasks. This unified data foundation allows an advisor to ask one question and receive a comprehensive answer without manually stitching information together.

To demonstrate this practical application, Orion also went live with two new AI-powered tools: Report Assistant and Query Studio. Report Assistant automates the creation of client-ready report drafts, leveraging firm-approved templates and components to drastically reduce time spent on formatting and assembly. Meanwhile, Query Studio empowers operations teams to pull and analyze complex datasets using plain English queries, bypassing the need for specialized technical skills or internal data requests.

The potential for immediate impact is already being recognized by early adopters. “As beta users of Orion’s AI Assistants, we see the potential firsthand for measurable time savings and faster insights,” commented Zach Lindgren of Wealth Enhancement®. “We share Orion’s enthusiasm for productivity improvements made possible by technology like AI.”

The platform is also designed for the modern advisor's workflow, available as a mobile and tablet app to provide the same level of insight whether in the office or on the go. By turning a firm's trusted data into ready-to-use insights and first drafts, the system promises to help firms move faster and deliver personalization at scale.

Navigating the AI Adoption Gap

Orion's launch arrives at a critical juncture for the industry. While the buzz around AI is deafening, actual adoption of advanced capabilities remains surprisingly low. Findings from Orion’s 2026 Advisor Wealthtech Survey reveal that while 60% of advisors see AI-driven efficiency and personalization as a top priority, only one in ten is currently using advanced tools like agentic AI or cross-system integrations. Nearly a quarter (23%) have no AI tools in place at all.

The survey highlights significant barriers holding firms back. Nearly half of advisors (49%) cite concerns over AI accuracy and maintaining client trust, while 42% point to regulatory uncertainty. Another 37% feel limited by a lack of internal expertise and training.

Denali AI is engineered to address these fears head-on. By operating on a foundation of permissioned, firm-approved data, it limits the risk of "hallucinations" or inaccurate information pulled from the open internet. Furthermore, the platform is designed to be reviewable and traceable, with built-in controls for human oversight. This ensures that while AI can generate a first draft of a report or an answer to a query, the advisor remains in control, aligning outputs with firm policies and compliance requirements before any client interaction.

The Strategic Edge in a Crowded Field

The wealthtech industry is in the midst of an AI arms race, with major players like Envestnet, BlackRock, and LPL Financial all investing heavily in intelligent solutions. Orion is betting that its strategic partnership and deeply integrated ecosystem will provide a decisive competitive advantage.

The company recently announced an expanded collaboration with Anthropic, the AI safety and research firm behind the Claude large language model. Orion executives have noted that Anthropic’s models were chosen for their efficiency and for exhibiting the "least amount of hallucinations" in testing, a critical factor for a regulated industry where accuracy is paramount. Denali AI will leverage Anthropic's new financial services plug-ins to power tasks from investment analysis to workflow automation.

This focus on a secure, enterprise-grade data environment sets it apart from more generalized AI tools. By building a holistic intelligence layer that can ingest and normalize data from both Orion and non-Orion systems, the company aims to provide a level of contextual depth that siloed applications cannot match. This integrated approach, combined with a best-in-class language model, positions Orion to not only compete but potentially set a new industry standard for how AI is deployed in wealth management.

From Enterprise Launch to Broader Access

While the initial launch targets enterprise clients, Orion has a clear roadmap for democratizing this technology. A full release of Denali AI, making it broadly available to independent advisors and firms of all sizes, is planned for later in 2026. This move acknowledges that the need for efficiency and advanced capabilities is universal across the advisory landscape.

Furthering this commitment, the company plans to introduce an Orion Service Bot for advisors in the coming weeks. Following a successful internal deployment in 2025, the bot will provide instant support for common questions related to trading, reporting, and billing. The roadmap also includes a suite of new AI Assistants designed to tackle proposal generation, account opening, and reconciliation, further embedding intelligence into every corner of the advisor workflow.

The accessibility will be supported by a flat monthly subscription fee, a model that could prove attractive to smaller firms that lack the resources to build or license custom enterprise solutions. By creating a scalable, secure, and deeply integrated platform, Orion is not just launching a product but is making a clear statement about the future of the industry—one where human advisors are empowered by intelligent technology to deliver personalized advice more effectively than ever before.