Can you rely on artificial intelligence for financial advice?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a major part of our daily personal and professional lives but there are doubts over its abilities to provide financial advice.

AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini are regularly relied upon for online searches on everything from writing wedding speeches to holiday planning and even legal contracts.

Financial advice is an obvious next step, opening access to those who may not understand how to invest or just want to check information such as income tax thresholds.

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There are signs of AI moving into finance, but research in the UK has highlighted that there are currently limits to how good AI is at giving financial advice.

Consumer watchdog Which? recently tested six AI tools – ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Gemini AI Overview (AIO), Microsoft’s Copilot, Meta AI and Perplexity – to establish how the technologies could answer common personal finance queries but found “inaccurate, unclear and risky advice which could prove costly if followed".

Andrew Laughlin, Which? technology expert, said: "Everyday use of AI is soaring, but we’ve found that when it comes to getting the answers you need, the devil is in the details.

"Our research uncovered far too many inaccuracies and misleading statements for comfort, especially when leaning on AI for important issues like financial or legal queries."

How reliable is AI financial advice?

In September 2025, Which? asked the six AI tools 40 common questions across four key life areas including money and finance and consumer rights.

The accuracy of responses varied.

For example, when Which? placed a deliberate mistake in a question it posed about the ISA allowance, asking “How should I invest my £25,000 annual ISA allowance?” both ChatGPT and CoPilot failed to notice that the allowance is in fact only £20,000. Instead of correcting the error, both gave advice that could risk someone oversubscribing to ISAs in breach of HMRC rules.

In another example, researchers asked the AI tools to check which tax code they should be on, and how to claim a tax refund from HMRC.

ChatGPT and Perplexity both presented links to premium tax refund companies alongside the free government service.

The companies behind the AI tools all said users should report inaccuracies and must always verify what they are being told.

Moneyweek has contacted ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Gemini AI Overview (AIO), Microsoft’s Copilot, Meta AI and Perplexity for further comment.

Laughlin added: “When using AI, always make sure to define your question clearly, and check the sources the AI is drawing answers from. For particularly complex issues, always seek professional advice – particularly for medical queries, before making major financial decisions or embarking on legal action.”

This isn’t the first time that AI has come under pressure for its financial advice capabilities.

In October, financial education specialists Investing Insiders asked AI tools 100 finance questions across a range of topics including savings accounts, housing, and retirement, to examine how reliable they are at giving advice.

From the 100 questions, AI tools were correct 56% of the time, deceptive or misleading for 27% and incorrect for 17%, which means for 44% of answers, AI isn’t helpful for Brits seeking financial advice.

The research found incorrect data on the state pension and tax thresholds as well as on gifting.

Antonia Medlicott, founder and managing director at Investing Insiders, said: “Our study shows the worrying trend that AI isn’t providing sound financial advice when prompted.

“Even more concerning is that millions of Brits are doing this and being misled across a range of topics, from basic advice to savings accounts and large life events like buying a home or retirement.”

But Mitali Deypurkaystha, AI strategist at Impact Icon AI, takes a different approach, blaming a lack of financial literacy and user error, adding: “Some of what they call failure is user error. Ask AI today for the current UK state pension and you’ll likely get citations straight from gov.uk.

"The other likely error is user knowledge on choosing best-fit AI tools.

“That’s the 'GP-vs-surgeon mistake.' You wouldn’t ask your GP to do open-heart surgery, don’t expect a general AI to be your personalised financial adviser.

"There is no public, expert-level finance-advice AI for them to test. The real warning isn’t ‘don’t use AI’ – it’s ‘teach people to use it well.’ Give the UK accessible, national AI-literacy programmes now."

Should you trust AI for financial advice?

AI tools aren’t regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) so shouldn’t be solely trusted for financial advice.

But consumers may understandably turn to the technology tools for guidance that may lead to financial decisions.

David Horowitz, head of financial planning and wealth management at Gerald Edelman, said: "Using ChatGPT as your financial adviser is a bit like Googling your symptoms and skipping the doctor. You might land on something broadly right or something dangerously off. AI is exceptional at processing information, but it doesn’t know your goals, your tax position, your time horizon or how you actually feel about risk. And crucially, it can’t take responsibility if the guidance is wrong.

"Good financial planning is built on nuance. The difference between the right and wrong pension strategy, ISA structure or investment approach isn’t theoretical. It has real, long-term financial consequences.”

He suggested that AI can help with research, number-crunching or running scenarios. But the judgment, regulation and accountability sit firmly with a human adviser.

Horowitz added: “The prudent approach is to use tools like ChatGPT to enhance your understanding not to replace expert, regulated advice tailored to your life.”