OpenAI is moving into a very personal part of people’s lives: their wallets. The company just started rolling out a new feature that allows ChatGPT to connect directly to your bank accounts. For now, this is a “preview” version available only to people in the United States who pay for a ChatGPT Pro subscription. This update changes the chatbot from a simple text generator into a digital financial assistant that can see exactly how you spend and save your money.
OpenAI says that more than 200 million people already ask ChatGPT for money advice every month. In the past, the bot could only give general tips, like telling you to “save more” or “spend less.” By linking to your actual accounts, the AI can now look at your real-world data and offer specific suggestions. Instead of a generic lecture on budgeting, it can tell you exactly where your paycheck goes each month and find ways for you to improve your financial health.
To make this possible, OpenAI signed a major deal with a company called Plaid. Most people who use apps like Venmo or Robinhood are already familiar with Plaid. It acts as a secure bridge between your bank and the apps you want to use. This partnership gives ChatGPT access to more than 12,000 different financial institutions. This includes giant banks like Citi and Chase, but it also covers investment services like Robinhood and buy-now-pay-later companies like Affirm.
Setting up the new feature is fairly simple. Users can find a new “Finances” section in the app’s sidebar. You can also just type a message to the bot saying, “connect my accounts.” The bot then leads you through a setup process where you log in to your bank through Plaid. Once the connection is live, ChatGPT builds a visual dashboard. It takes a few minutes to crunch the numbers, but it eventually shows you a clear picture of your spending, debts, and investments. You can then ask the bot questions about your own history or use one of the “starter” questions to get going.
Understandably, the idea of a chatbot looking at your bank account might sound scary. OpenAI is trying to calm those fears by setting strict limits on what the bot can actually do. The system uses a “read-only” connection. This means ChatGPT can see your balances, your transaction history, and your investments, but it cannot see your full account number. Most importantly, the AI cannot move any of your money or make changes to your accounts. It is there to watch and advise, not to act on its own.
Users also have a lot of control over their data. You can disconnect your bank from the app whenever you want. If the chatbot saves a “memory” of your financial situation—like the fact that you have a high car payment—you can see that memory and delete it manually. OpenAI also promised that its standard privacy settings apply here. If you have opted out of data training, the company will not use your bank info or your prompts to train its future AI models.
OpenAI has been spending a lot of money to become a major player in the finance world. Some experts believe the company might spend over $1 billion this year just on developing new features like this one. Not long ago, OpenAI bought a startup called Hiro, which built its own AI financial planning tools. While this specific ChatGPT feature was already in the works before that purchase, the Hiro team will likely help make the “Finances” section even more powerful in the coming months.
Even if only a small group of users—perhaps 1.5% of the total user base—tries this out at first, it represents a massive shift for the industry. Companies like Apple and Google are also trying to bake finance tools into their devices. By getting there first with a deep Plaid integration, OpenAI is making a play to be the center of your financial life. They want you to trust ChatGPT more than a human financial advisor.
The company plans to expand this tool to “Plus” subscribers and more regions once they see how the first group uses it. They say they are being thoughtful about the rollout because the stakes are so high when it comes to money. If the bot gives bad advice or creates a security risk, it could damage the brand’s reputation forever. However, if it works, millions of people might finally get a clear, AI-driven view of their financial future.
