Most people think AI disruption looks like robots on factory floors or chatbots replacing customer service reps. It doesn't. It looks like a memo from JPMorgan announcing they've fired their human advisors and handed the keys to an algorithm.

That just happened.

The quiet takeover

JPMorgan Asset Management, which manages more than $7 trillion in client assets, announced it will no longer use third-party proxy advisory firms for U.S. shareholder votes [1]. Instead, they've built an internal AI platform called Proxy IQ.

This makes JPMorgan the first major investment firm to completely abandon external advisors for proxy voting [1]. The new system goes live April 1, 2026, and will analyze proxy data from 3,000 annual company meetings [2].

For context: two firms, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, controlled over 90% of the proxy advisory market. They employed armies of analysts who read corporate filings, evaluated board candidates, and recommended how institutional investors should vote.

That expertise is being replaced by one AI system at one bank.

Why you should care about proxy votes

If you own mutual funds, ETFs, or a retirement account, you own pieces of companies. Those shares carry voting rights. Someone decides who sits on corporate boards. Someone approves CEO compensation. Someone votes on mergers, spin-offs, and environmental policies.

That someone is usually not you.

Most individual investors never vote. The forms arrive, get ignored, and expire. So institutional investors—the JPMorgans of the world—vote on behalf of millions of people who don't engage.

Previously, they relied on human analysts at advisory firms to make those recommendations. Now? An AI system will generate recommendations across thousands of companies. Your retirement account's votes will be influenced by an algorithm you'll never see.

This is how AI actually takes over

I've spent 30 years watching technology transform industries. The pattern is always the same: not dramatic disruption, but quiet substitution. One process at a time. One decision-maker at a time.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has called proxy advisory firms "incompetent" and criticized their data accuracy [3]. Fair enough. But as Fortune's Richard Torrenzano observed: "In dismantling the old gatekeepers, JPMorgan may be quietly installing itself as a new one" [4].

The irony is sharp. A crusade against centralized influence may have created something more centralized: one AI platform, controlled by one bank, shaping governance decisions across the corporate landscape.

This isn't science fiction. This is a Thursday.

What this signals for every business leader

I talk to executives every week who think AI adoption means chatbots and document summarization. They're not wrong, but they're missing the bigger picture.

AI is moving from the edges of business operations toward the center. It's entering rooms where consequential decisions happen—boardrooms, investment committees, compliance departments. The JPMorgan move is a leading indicator, not an outlier.

If you're a CEO, your compensation package may soon be evaluated by AI systems trained on patterns you can't examine. If you're a board member, the votes determining your tenure may be generated by algorithms optimizing for factors you don't control.

The companies that understand this shift will prepare for it. The ones that don't will be surprised when AI shows up in places they never expected.

What this means for you

Understand that AI governance is the next frontier. We've spent years discussing AI in operations. Now it's entering decision-making infrastructure. If your organization hasn't thought about how AI influences the decisions made about you—not just by you—start now.

Recognize the pattern. JPMorgan didn't announce a flashy AI product launch. They quietly replaced a $500 million industry with an internal platform. Look for similar quiet substitutions in your industry. The biggest AI transformations won't make headlines until they're already complete.

Audit your own proxy participation. If you're an investor, find out how your shares are being voted. Most brokerages let you opt into direct voting. "Not voting isn't neutral," Torrenzano wrote. "It cedes your power to others who choose to engage" [4]. One AI just chose to engage on behalf of $7 trillion.

Prepare for AI-driven evaluation. Whether you're seeking board positions, negotiating compensation, or proposing strategic initiatives, assume that AI systems will be part of the evaluation process. This doesn't mean gaming algorithms—it means ensuring your communications and track record are clear, consistent, and documented in ways that survive algorithmic analysis.

The real lesson

This story isn't really about proxy voting. It's about what happens when AI becomes trusted enough to make high-stakes decisions at scale.

JPMorgan didn't build Proxy IQ because AI is trendy. They built it because they believe their AI can analyze corporate governance better than the human analysts they were paying. Whether that's true remains to be seen. But the confidence is instructive.

Every industry has its version of ISS and Glass Lewis—specialized firms built on human expertise, charging premium prices to make complex recommendations. Every one of those firms should be asking themselves: could an AI do this? And if so, when will our biggest clients decide to build one internally?

The proxy advisory industry just found out. Your industry might be next.

The question isn't whether AI will enter the rooms where important decisions are made. It already has. The question is whether you'll be ready when it walks into yours.

References

[1] ESG Today, https://www.esgtoday.com/jpmorgan-asset-management-to-drop-proxy-advisors-for-in-house-ai-platform/

[2] CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/15/jpmorgan-drops-proxy-advisory-firms-for-ai-platform.html

[3] American Banker, https://www.americanbanker.com/news/dimon-blasts-proxy-advisory-firms

[4] Fortune, https://www.fortune.com/2026/01/16/jpmorgan-proxy-iq-shareholder-voting/