All things considered, we’re still in the infancy of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Yet advisors across the professional services sector, from accounting and legal to business consulting and exit planning, are finding meaningful ways to derive value from it. Not only is it expediting processes; it’s also helping them make more accurate, informed, and strategic choices for their clients.

To take a closer look at the impact of generative AI on exit planning, the content team at ELLA sat down with the managing partner of Viking Financial Management (VFM) Strategic Partners and co-founder of ELLA, Kevin Mallory. Specializing in exit planning, Mallory has been providing personalized financial strategies for individuals and business owners to help them navigate life’s most significant transitions for almost two decades.

The State of AI

Let’s start by getting the lay of the digital landscape. In a 2025 survey, more than three-quarters of respondents said their organizations use AI in at least one business function. Further, OpenAI’s ChatGPT sees over 2.5 billion prompts per day. The vast majority of those prompts are coming from people working in:

• Information

• Professional and Technology Services

• Educational Services

• Real Estate

• Management

• Finance and Insurance

The small business landscape has always been volatile, which is why only about half of them are still in business five years in. But AI has emerged as a transformative force for small business owners (SBOs) and their advisors.

While large corporations are more aggressive in integrating it into their business processes, AI is becoming more accessible and affordable, which is changing the game for businesses of all sizes. When used wisely, AI has the potential to level the playing field and open exciting prospects for its implementation. Broadly speaking, current research suggests AI-powered automation can increase productivity by about 40%, giving small businesses a significant competitive edge.

“Small business owners need to incorporate AI into their work now to learn how it can work for them. Otherwise, they run the risk of being left behind,” asserts Kevin Mallory, Managing Partner of Viking Financial Management (VFM) Strategic Partners and co-founder of ELLA. “That said, business owners have to use the right AI technology, learn how to craft the right prompts, and do their due diligence to ensure it’s producing the right information.”

Between hallucinations, overgeneralizing, and a lack of real-world understanding, AI is still far from 100 percent correct. You name it, AI tools have flubbed it: fabricated legal statutes, dangerous advice, unfounded accusations, historical errors, deadly medical suggestions, misreported current events, and exaggerated facts and figures. Conversely, its analytical abilities and accuracy are improving by the day, unlocking new value for advisors and SBOs.

Using AI Along The Exit Journey

SBOs often conflate the exit journey with the merger and acquisition (M&A) process, seeing exit advisors and M&A advisors as one and the same.

In reality, an M&A adviser is a business broker. They generally enter the picture at the back end of the exit planning process when an SBO is ready to sell their business in the next 12 to 18 months. Meanwhile, exit advisors jump in much earlier—three to seven years before a sale—to help SBOs reduce risk and boost value so the business is in great shape when it’s time to sell.

“A lot of people think the sales stage is all the exit planning process is,” notes Mallory. “But it's more than that, and it should be more than that. Case in point, more than 70% of business owners regret selling their business.” Mallory is right. The Exit Planning Institute found that a staggering 76% of business owners regret selling their business.

To avoid seller's remorse, SBOs need to know what they’re doing next, they need to feel good about the sales price, and ensure they’re preserving their legacy. To make it happen, trusted exit advisors:

• Assess readiness

• Coordinate execution

• Build the exit team

• Identify value gaps

• Provide personal support

• Set clear exit goals

Throughout the exit process, exit advisors often find that businesses have room for improvement and could sell for a higher multiple. “If small business owners plan five, six, even seven years out from selling their business—one they’ve worked so hard to build—they’ll have a more successful exit and avoid selling it to private equity firms and conglomerates that completely remove the things that make that business great,” notes Mallory. “Really, that’s what ELLA is assisting with,” he continues. “It’s a workbench for advisors and stakeholders to find areas of improvement and create initiatives based on what they find.”

AI Is The Vehicle, Advisors Are Driving It

“AI is going to help expedite the discovery of value drivers and risks,” shares Mallory. “But there is a human element that has to be involved in the exit planning process.” Current AI technology still can’t effectively help SBOs navigate and reduce the impact of real-world factors such as divorce, death, health issues, family conflict, and other major life events. “An exit advisor is going to help you prepare for circumstances ahead of time in the event that something like this happens.”

AI tools sound pretty confident when they spit out market data, especially as they extrapolate it from big names in the sales data world, such as Pitchbook, IBISWorld, and Crunchbase. The problem is, AI still lacks context, which in turn can change the meaning of the data.

“As opposed to real estate, where just about everything is public domain, a lot of businesses are sold under non-disclosure (NDA) agreements,” Mallory remarks. “Even if AI tools produce an average price or multiple, it doesn’t know all the intricacies behind why it sold for that much. And also, is it good data? Is it out of date?”

When it comes to AI technologies, business owners and advisors need to be mindful of the data these tools are using to churn out answers. Depending on market trends, you’ll see flash-in-the-pan multiples as high as 100x. And, at the end of the day, a buyer still has to agree to the purchase price, no matter what a chatbot tells a person.

“I don't know of any source of data out there that is 100% accurate. How could it be?” Mallory questions. “The market is constantly changing, so these data points should simply be used as another tool to help SBOs grow their businesses to be best-in-class.”

Allocating More Time To Building Client Relationships

Across multiple industries, AI tools are helping people work about 40% faster than they used to. Paperwork is getting done more quickly, value gaps are being identified faster, and fact-finding is more streamlined. With that time saved, exit advisors are able to focus on the relationship-building aspect of their job.

“AI can help synthesize findings from a fact-finding session and prompt some interesting questions,” says Mallory. “But exit advisors should be working hand in hand with the business owners during the fact-finding process—you’re there to translate what the business owner says into what they actually mean.”

Ultimately, AI shouldn’t replace exit advisors—it should empower them. By automating time-consuming tasks and surfacing smarter insights, AI is freeing up space for what really matters: stronger client relationships, sharper strategies, and more successful exits.

But as powerful as these tools are, they're only as effective as the advisors using them. When paired with industry experience, emotional intelligence, and long-term vision, AI can pave a smoother path for transformation.

ELLA was built for this new era of advisory work. Our digital fact-finding workbench helps trusted advisors streamline the exit planning process, identify value drivers faster, and spend more time where it counts. If you're ready to see what ELLA can do for you and your clients, join our early access list today.