How Everyday People Are Becoming Smarter Than the Experts They Hire

It used to be that if you hired a professional—a lawyer, accountant, financial adviser, real estate agent, or insurance broker—you simply trusted them. They were the experts, the gatekeepers to information you didn’t have access to. But that world is changing fast.

Today, the average person can become more knowledgeable than the so-called professionals they hire. With tools like AI, online education, and open access to data, the power balance has shifted. Information that was once hidden behind diplomas, certifications, licenses, financial jargon, and technical complexity is now available to anyone willing to ask the right questions and who to ask.

That doesn’t mean professionals aren’t valuable—they absolutely are. But it does mean the days of blind trust are over. Now, it’s our responsibility to make sure the people we pay to represent us are actually doing their jobs well. They work for us, not the other way around.

Over the years, I’ve learned this firsthand. Too many people assume their financial adviser, accountant, or lawyer has everything under control—until something goes wrong. A missed deduction, a weak clause, a bad investment decision—and suddenly it’s clear that no one was watching the details. The truth is, no one will ever care more about your finances, your assets, or your future than you.

That’s why I now use AI as my personal second set of eyes. When I get those long, complicated notices or statements from my financial planner filled with legal terms and fine print, I take photos of the documents, upload them, and simply ask ChatGPT: “Please explain these in plain English.” In seconds, I get a clear understanding of what I’m reading—without the spin, sales pitch, or confusing language.

The same goes for any agreement or contract I need to sign. Whether it’s an investment disclosure, a property settlement, or a real estate agreement of sale, I can upload the entire document and ask, “Do you see anything missing or one-sided that I should question before signing?”

And it doesn’t stop there. Think about all those “User Agreements” we’re asked to accept before using a service or installing an app. Most people scroll straight to the bottom and hit I Agree without reading a single word. But you can take a screenshot, upload it, and ask AI to summarize what you’re actually agreeing to. You’ll be amazed how much you learn about what data they collect, how it’s used, or what rights you might be giving up.

What’s happening now is revolutionary. Regular people—those who never went to law school, never studied finance, and never took a business course—are learning to speak the language of the professionals they once relied on blindly. That’s real empowerment.

This isn’t about replacing professionals; it’s about keeping them honest. It’s about understanding enough to ask the right questions and to recognize when something doesn’t add up.

The old saying “trust but verify” has never been more relevant. Trust your professionals, but verify that they’re truly working in your best interest. Because in this new world, the smartest person in the room isn’t always the one with the degree on the wall—it’s the one who takes the time to learn, question, and use the tools that are now available to all of us.