We asked ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity for financial advice: what we got was practical, but with big blind spots

Ever used or thought of using artificial intelligence (AI) for financial advice? Is it a good idea? Anyone with the internet, even on their phone, can access AI.

Tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity are free, instant, and easy to use.

They can break down complex financial concepts and provide financial solutions in seconds.

But can they safely guide a user through a nuanced, high-stakes financial crisis? Our recent research explored this question, drawing on our financial planning and consumer behaviour expertise.

We evaluated how three open-access AI models handled the financial queries of users whose personal situations put them at risk of harm.

To do this we created hypothetical scenarios representing different life stages, economic challenges and socioeconomic vulnerabilities.

We then ran these scenarios through OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and Perplexity AI: a 22-year-old university graduate wanting to save for a home deposit during a cost-of-living crisis a pregnant woman seeking financial advice on planning for maternity leave, with a partner who doesn’t share money a single parent of two children, with a modest income, who was told by their cousin to invest in cryptocurrency.

In our analysis we found that AI offers highly structured and practical advice.

But it has blind spots.

We provided the models with explicit information about how the three cases were vulnerable, but the models didn’t respond appropriately to that.

They even offered advice that could make financial harm worse.

We concluded from our research that AI is a powerful tool for financial fact-finding and brainstorming.

If you are already financially literate, and know how to cross-check data, AI can be a useful financial aid.

But, for now, AI cannot replace the human element.