Key Takeaways
- AI chatbots often give very poor financial advice, according to a recent study.
- Major chatbots, including ChatGPT and Google Gemini, performed badly when tested on financial questions.
- The study found errors in basic math and unreliable recommendations.
- Despite sounding confident, AIs lack a real understanding of personal finance.
- Experts strongly advise against using current AI chatbots for financial guidance.
Think twice before asking an AI chatbot for tips on managing your money. While AI tackles many tasks, handling personal finances isn’t one of its strengths, and relying on it could lead you down a risky path.
A recent study put this to the test. Researchers at the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence asked four popular chatbots—ChatGPT-4o, DeepSeek-V2, Elon Musk’s Grok 3 Beta, and Google’s Gemini 2—twelve common finance questions.
The results weren’t pretty. According to the study findings reported by Vice, even the best performer, ChatGPT, only answered 5 out of 12 questions correctly. Google’s Gemini scored a dismal 1.5.
The chatbots struggled across the board, even with simple arithmetic. For instance, Grok incorrectly added $3,700 and $200, getting $4,900. It seems you shouldn’t trust them with much when it comes to your finances.
Researchers noted the bots often gave wordy, typo-filled answers delivered with misplaced confidence. It’s a style reminiscent of someone trying too hard to sound knowledgeable without actually knowing the subject.
Mind Matters, analyzing the study, pointed out that the chatbots seemed more focused on sounding human and relatable than on providing solid, accurate financial advice based on reliable data.
They often use enthusiastic punctuation like exclamation points, perhaps to mask a lack of genuine understanding. The advice can come across as a jumble of words lacking real substance.
The danger lies in trusting their confident tone. Just because an AI sounds like it knows what it’s talking about doesn’t mean it does. When it comes to financial advice, current AI chatbots simply aren’t reliable sources.
