AI Financial Advisors Look For Young People Who Are Paying To Pay

Leaders on the dig Smart companies often ask users (and investors) to think about the near future AI coaches, trained on personal information and past experiences, help users achieve their wildest dreams. Want to do more? Here’s an AI-powered workout. Want to take control of your long-term lifestyle? Try this AI health app. Want to fix your financial problems? There is a financial chatbot on it. Many, in fact.

My goal is to be debt-free by the end of 2025, and as a journalist who often tests new software, I was interested in testing the AI ​​financial advisors that have become popular in recent years. Hiring a human capital manager can cost several thousand dollars, so many people, especially younger users, are turning to AI tools for advice. From Apple’s free top charts financial programsI decided to test two well-reviewed methods of offering chatbots aimed at solving financial problems: Cleo AI and Bright.

Both Cleo AI and Bright encourage users to link their bank account to the app through a third party called Plaid. This makes it so chatbots breaking spending habits, helping users pay off debt, and building credit. “Using your bank details and personal information, Cleo will be your personal trainer or coach,” said Barney Hussey-Yeo, CEO and founder of the company. “They will give you the right advice and the right resources to help you make good financial decisions.”

Fair enough, but some of the advice Cleo gave me deviated from that path. Although it had time to react, like a peaceful burn that I used inappropriately, the AI ​​tool seemed too busy with my use. personal information about additional opportunities. Bright was the same.

For example, I pretended to be sad and didn’t have enough money to buy things. According to Hussey-Yeo, Cleo’s main target audience is young people living on paychecks and “feeling the financial pain more than most people.” So I thought this might be something that users share all the time. Bot pretending to be kind and immediately began to encourage me to see if I was eligible for a refund through the program.

After Cleo confirmed that I was due a refund, I was asked to sign up for the $6/month Cleo Plus membership. The first time I used it, the program offered a total of $130, divided into $65 increments over two days. Professional users do not have to pay a fee if they want to wait three or four business days – something that is difficult for people who are living between payments and distractions to my goal of paying off past debts.

Cleo also offered me a change that day, if I agreed to pay $8. This means I have to pay back $73 in just one week to get it fixed. After I failed my first time, the program increased my total limit to $200 the next day, divided into two $100 increments. According to Hussey-Yeo, about a third of Cleo’s revenue comes from revenue, and the rest is generated through subscriptions and a card designed to support users. increase their credits. In the end, Cleo felt like a temptation to take out an extra, short-term loan, rather than a solution to my financial problems.

While Cleo’s app doesn’t currently include advanced mortgages, Bright’s financial chat, marketed as an “AI loan manager,” does. The subscription to Bright’s AI assistant costs a lot, $ 39 for three months of access, but it also promises the opportunity to earn more money, up to $ 10,000 through other lenders. Compared to other AI financial chatbots I’ve tested, Bright’s output included more errors, such as saying I lost $7,000 in insufficient funds last month, the wrong amount.