More than 1 in 4 Americans have used an AI chatbot for personal finance advice, and the results are far from guaranteed. Of those who acted on the advice, 39% said it improved their finances, 29% said it hurt them, and 32% said it made no difference, according to new research from NerdWallet.
"It's not a slam dunk. If I ask AI a money question and take its advice, it might not work out for me," said Sara Rathner, senior credit cards expert at NerdWallet.
Part of the appeal is the format. Nearly 28% of AI users said they turned to chatbots because they wanted a non-judgmental response to their money questions. Rathner said the chatbot experience is customizable - users can ask for a conversational tone or a formal one, and the bot responds accordingly.
That personalized feel comes with a caveat: AI chatbots can be agreeable to a fault. Rathner said users can prompt the bot to challenge their assumptions, but the quality of responses depends heavily on how the question is asked. People who are not experienced with prompting may get results that aren't right for them.
Broken Arrow residents who spoke with KJRH said they use the technology with limits. Aaron Carlson, who works in cybersecurity, said AI is a useful tool but users need to verify what it returns. John Scukey said he treats AI as a starting point: "I don't go totally by what AI says because sometimes I'll get contrary comments, so I'll go and research it afterwards. But the AI is basically the first thing I go to."
That approach aligns with NerdWallet's recommendation. Rathner said the quality of AI responses depends on where the chatbot pulls its information - reputable sources like government websites, or random sites with outdated or incorrect data. She said users should follow up with more questions and fact-check before acting.
The stakes are clear: about 49% of Americans say they don't feel confident evaluating whether AI financial advice is accurate, and 1 in 5 people who followed AI financial advice acted on it immediately without follow-up questions or additional research.
AI agents can now spend your money
The risks go beyond advice. AI agents can now be given access to bank accounts and credit cards, and in some cases make purchases without human input at each step.
"We're beginning to see the foundation being set in the payment world, where with a human being's consent, an AI agent can have access to payment methods, like a credit card number, and be given parameters, and then go out and shop on behalf of a human," Rathner said.
Major platforms are moving in this direction. ChatGPT now connects to credit cards and bank accounts across more than 12,000 financial institutions. Robinhood's agentic credit card gives AI its own virtual card number. Visa and Mastercard have launched agentic commerce platforms that let AI agents compare prices and complete purchases without human input at each transaction.
Rathner said credit card companies have experience managing AI-related risk, but the technology is still evolving. She compared AI agents to human cardholders: when behavior becomes unpredictable, fraud alerts should trigger. She said the technology's track record will determine how widely it is trusted.
"If it tries to make reservations at restaurants that haven't been open for years, if it messes up the dates on your hotel booking so you arrive and there's no hotel room for you - if that was a human travel agent, you'd fire them," Rathner said.
The bottom line for protecting your wallet when using AI for financial advice is simple: "You really want to double and triple check the information that it's giving you," Rathner said.
Why this matters for finance professionals
The survey numbers point to a broader shift: consumers are trusting AI with money decisions, and the financial industry is building infrastructure for AI agents to handle transactions. Finance professionals should expect clients to arrive with AI-generated answers and be ready to evaluate them. They also need to understand how agentic payment systems work, since those systems are entering the platforms clients use.
Finance professionals who want to build these skills can find structured training through AI for Finance Courses and AI Agents & Automation Courses.
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