{"id":14535,"date":"2025-08-21T19:26:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T19:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/14535\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T19:26:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T19:26:08","slug":"can-you-trust-ais-money-advice-financial-experts-weigh-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/14535\/","title":{"rendered":"Can you trust AI’s money advice? Financial experts weigh in"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Can you trust AI chatbots for financial advice?<\/p>\n

More people are trusting AI chatbots for money advice. Here’s what we know about their advice.<\/p>\n

From grocery lists to help creating a website to promote her work as a realtor, Jennifer Allen says she uses ChatGPT for everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When unexpected hospital bills and time away from work after giving birth led her to rely on credit cards, she knew her debt was growing. But she was scared to tally the total amount and rarely looked at\u00a0her bank accounts. Until one day, she wondered if ChatGPT, or \u201cChat,\u201d as she calls it, could help.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She fed the chatbot required information and it told her she had amassed $23,000 in debt. Surprised by the number, she wondered how she could pay it off. Allen said she didn\u2019t even think about consulting a financial planner. She did, however, ask ChatGPT.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if a financial planner told me something, I would still go to Chat to run it by them,\u201d Allen told USA TODAY.<\/p>\n

She prompted the chatbot to give her one thing she could do every day to help pay down her debt, and documented the process<\/a> on TikTok. By the end of two 30-day challenges, she\u2019d come up with $13,078 by following the bot\u2019s advice and earned additional money from the TikTok Creator Rewards Program. She said she now has a little less than $5,000 in debt remaining.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While not everyone follows ChatGPT\u2019s advice every day, the chatbot has experienced rapid growth. It\u2019s reaching about 700 million users weekly\u00a0\u2013 four times more than last year, according to OpenAI\u2019s Nick Turley<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ChatGPT isn\u2019t the only artificial intelligence model people are relying on for information. A Morning Consult survey<\/a> found more than half of U.S. adults said they refer to AI-generated summaries when searching online and 1 in 10 \u00a0said they don\u2019t consult other sources. A Southeastern Oklahoma State University questionnaire<\/a> found that 1 in 3 Americans have used an AI tool to make a career decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some think the technology will transform the financial planning space. Others warn against relying on it for money advice. And while some humans may be self-interested when saying they do a better job than AI, even companies behind popular chatbots advise caution. Large language models, like Gemini, can “hallucinate” and present inaccurate information as factual, according to Google.<\/p>\n

USA TODAY asked five popular chatbots common personal finance questions. Here\u2019s what they said and what financial experts thought of their responses:<\/p>\n

AI’s advice on retirement savings<\/p>\n

USA TODAY asked ChatGPT<\/a>, Claude<\/a>, Copilot<\/a>, Gemini<\/a>, and Grok<\/a> three personal finance questions in the same order \u2013 starting with one of the most common: How much money<\/a> do I need to retire?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their answers were similar but not identical. In seconds, the chatbots generated somewhat lengthy responses, usually formatted in bullet points, giving examples and general advice with caveats.<\/p>\n

Grok was the only model to give a specific number in its final answer \u2013 about $1 million. But it, alongside ChatGPT and Copilot,\u00a0also asked the user to provide more information. Gemini recommended using a retirement calculator and Claude suggested meeting with a financial planner.<\/p>\n

All pointed to the 4% rule\u00a0\u2013\u00a0a withdrawal strategy that says retirees can safely withdraw\u00a04% of their savings during the year they retire and then adjust for inflation each subsequent year. However, the rule is more than 30 years old and its creator said it was outdated<\/a> in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is not one number<\/a> for everybody. If the chatbot tries to answer this question without asking for information, that\u2019s useless,\u201d said Annamaria Lusardi, who\u00a0heads Stanford’s Initiative for Financial Decision-Making. \u201cThe 4% rule of thumb is completely outdated. … If you follow it, you have a very high probability of running out.\u201d<\/p>\n

More: <\/strong>The right financial adviser can help you navigate a shaky economy. We rank the top firms.<\/a><\/p>\n

AI’s advice on credit scores<\/p>\n

The chatbots\u2019 responses to the question \u201cHow do I improve my credit score?\u201d were nearly identical. They suggested strategies such as paying bills on time, keeping credit utilization low, and maintaining a healthy mix of credit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a much easier question for ChatGPT to answer correctly because there is all of this information, for example, on the FICO score website<\/a>,\u201d Lusardi said. \u201cIf you compare these two questions, this is really a type of situation where you can have rules for everyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Greg Clement is the CEO and Founder of Freedomology, a technology and coaching company that launched its own chatbot<\/a> dedicated to helping people with their finances, health, and relationships. He worked as a financial planner for eight years and thinks popular AI models can be useful when people have financial questions but that their answers are still \u201cvery vague and generic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost as if you’re talking to 100 financial planners and you ask the same question to 100 people and you try to consolidate all of their answers into one summary,\u201d Clement said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Between AI\u2019s documented bias<\/a> and inabilty to understand things on a human level, Tori Dunlap, a money expert who founded Her First 100k<\/a>, is skeptical of people relying on the technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s there as your digital robotic personal assistant. It\u2019s not meant to challenge you or push back, or help you think differently. That\u2019s something a coach or expert can you help you do,\u201d Dunlap said.\u00a0\u201cI would also say though, if you\u2019re going to go from no financial advice to ChatGPT, I will take ChatGPT every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

What happens when you give AI specific numbers?<\/p>\n

Using the median household income<\/a> and down payment<\/a> in Illinois, USA TODAY asked the chatbots what home price a couple could afford in that state.<\/p>\n

Before giving a number, most asked the user to consider factors including their debt-to-income ratio, private mortgage insurance, and property taxes. But without asking for more information, each gave a different range.<\/p>\n

ChatGPT and Gemini were the most optimistic, suggesting $300,000 to $320,000 and $275,00 to $325,000, respectively. Claude said $245,000 to $270,000 and Copilot said $225,000 to $250,000. Grok gave the lowest range from $200,000 to $240,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonal finance is about our life. I don\u2019t know that I would leave it to just artificial intelligence without a careful check and being aware that different ones will give me different results,\u201d Lusardi said. \u201cSome of these suggestions can be very simple and potentially not very useful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dunlap said the chatbots\u2019 variety of answers is the result of them not having enough information. If someone asked her this question, she said she\u2019d follow up by asking about their credit score,\u00a0their ideal mortgage payment, and interest rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut before we even do that, my question is: Do you actually want to be a homeowner or do you just feel like you need to in order to be successful?\u201d she said. \u201cBy definition, you’re talking to a robot. You’re not talking to somebody who understands real complex human emotion.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

After all, if someone asks AI this question, they\u2019re talking to a chatbot who has never experienced homeownership.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a young couple in the Freedomology community would ask the same question, they\u2019d probably get answers from people that have owned a house for 10 or 20 years,\u201d Clement said. \u201cHow do you replace that? I don\u2019t think you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do AI companies recommend?<\/p>\n

In USA TODAY\u2019s chats with the AI models, several included disclaimers that they were not financial advisers, and AI companies have some safeguards in place to fact check their responses.<\/p>\n

Google’s double-check feature<\/a> highlights any information that is contradicted online. The company’s help center notes that people should not rely<\/a> on Gemini for financial advice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Anthropic, the company behind Claude, said they are encouraged to see people using the model as a financial literacy tool to demystify topics like compound interest and credit scores. However, they said while Claude can help people become more informed, it should not replace licensed professionals for personalized financial decisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They recommend using Claude to learn and prepare smarter questions, but to rely on certified professionals who can give personalized advice when it comes to actual investment decisions and retirement strategies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most successful approach we see is people using Claude to level up their financial literacy, then taking that knowledge into real-world decisions,\u201d\u00a0the Anthropic spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY. \u201cThey understand the terminology, recognize better opportunities, and feel more confident, whether they’re negotiating a car loan, choosing between job offers, or preparing for retirement planning meetings. That’s where AI genuinely helps \u2013 making financial knowledge accessible to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

In another statement to USA TODAY, a spokesperson for Microsoft said Copilot\u2019s Deep Research mode can help people make well-informed choices in areas that require careful evaluation, including financial decisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we look ahead, we\u2019re focused on making Copilot an even better AI companion; one that\u2019s more personal and feels natural being used in everyday life,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cAI can still make mistakes, so we always recommend people check sources and reach out to a financial adviser if needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Allen said she doesn\u2019t take everything AI says at face value, she credits it as a reason she went\u00a0from not knowing how much debt she had, to paying a majority of it off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what changed about this whole process,\u201d Allen said. \u201cI’m not afraid. I have ChatGPT on my side.\u201d<\/p>\n

OpenAI and xAI did not respond to USA TODAY\u2019s requests for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reach Rachel Barber at rbarber@usatoday.com and follow her on X @rachelbarber_.<\/p>\n