ChatGPT now wants access to your bank account so it can tell you to stop ordering takeout
Key Points
- OpenAI has integrated a new financial feature into ChatGPT that lets users connect their bank accounts and receive personalized analyses based on their actual financial data.
- The system defaults to the GPT-5.5 Thinking model for its evaluations, capable of analyzing specific expenses and calculating savings goals for users.
- ChatGPT is limited to read-only access to financial data and cannot modify accounts, though OpenAI plans to enable direct actions like credit card applications in the future.
OpenAI is testing a personal finance feature that lets US Pro subscribers connect their bank accounts to ChatGPT for tailored analysis.
OpenAI has rolled out a preview of this new tool on the web and iOS. Instead of relying on generic advice, users can pull up a spending dashboard and ask questions based on their actual financial data.
With over 200 million people already using the chatbot monthly for budgeting and planning, the company wants to ground these conversations in reality. OpenAI plans to refine the tool based on early feedback before expanding it to Plus subscribers, with a long-term goal of universal access.
Accounts link through Plaid, which supports more than 12,000 financial institutions, with Intuit integration coming later. Once authenticated, ChatGPT takes a few minutes to sync and categorize the data.
Real data replaces generic advice
The synced dashboard displays portfolio performance, spending breakdowns, subscriptions, and upcoming payments. Users can add context, like a mortgage or savings target. Instead of offering standard tips like "cut back on food delivery," ChatGPT analyzes recent spending to flag where money is going and suggests concrete monthly caps.
In one example OpenAI showed, ChatGPT calculated a monthly savings potential of about $705 based on real transaction data, broken down across dining, shopping, transportation, subscription cleanup, and groceries. It saves user-provided details as "Financial Memories" for future conversations, which can be reviewed or deleted at any time.
Finance conversations default to GPT-5.5 Thinking, as financial questions require juggling income, debt, and timelines simultaneously, OpenAI says. In an internal benchmark evaluated by over 50 financial experts, GPT-5.5 Thinking scored 79 out of 100 for response quality and accuracy. GPT-5.5 Pro scored 82.5, while the older GPT-5.3 Instant managed just 59.4.
Eventually, a partnership with Intuit will let users act on suggestions directly within ChatGPT, like applying for a recommended credit card or consulting a tax expert.
ChatGPT can see balances but can't move money
ChatGPT gets read-only access to balances, transactions, investments, and liabilities. It can't see full account numbers and can't move money or make any changes. Users can disconnect their accounts whenever they want, and OpenAI says it deletes synced data within 30 days. Temporary chats don't pull in financial data at all.
Whether connected-account conversations are used for model training depends on the privacy settings users have already chosen in ChatGPT. OpenAI recommends enabling multi-factor authentication.
Finally, OpenAI notes that ChatGPT is not a licensed financial advisor or tax professional, and its outputs should always be verified.
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