Can ChatGPT Be Your Trusted Financial Advisor?

ChatGPT’s New Internet‑Search Feature Sparks a Fresh Study on AI Finance Advice

OpenAI has rolled out internet‑search capability for every ChatGPT user, letting people chat while pulling up real‑time web data. BestBrokers recently asked the AI to flag the most baffling personal‑finance terms worldwide and then assessed the AI’s replies to determine how useful those answers are for everyday investing.

Standard Answers Fall Short of Personal Precision

According to research economist Paul Hoffman, the AI can explain why investing basics are clear, yet market complexity means it cannot address every individual detail or risk. Studies show that between 62% and 82% of retail traders lose money online, so an expert’s tailored guidance continues to be the wiser route.

Where Confusion Is Most Global

• ETF, forex, GDP—these terms receive the most monthly searches, from 700,000 to 950,000.
• They dominate queries in the United States, Sweden, India, Germany, and Japan.

Method: AI, SEO, and Global Search Patterns

BestBrokers’ AI tool listed 30 commonly misunderstood terms, showing why each confuses users and naming the top three questions per term. Then the team employed Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer to calculate global search volumes and rank the 10 countries with the highest interest. Examining data from 57 countries uncovered regional differences in financial confusion.

Is ChatGPT Accurate?

Researchers found that more than one in three finance‑related questions get wrong answers from the AI. “ChatGPT will keep hallucinating wrong answers for years to come,” allegedly warned Morgan Stanley analysts, a claim echoed by FSG.

Why the AI Hallucinates

• Hallucinations occur when the model produces results that differ from expectations, are disconnected from reality, and do not match the training data.
• In practice, the AI crafts a plausible but incorrect explanation, so its output cannot be fully trusted.

Bias, Transparency, and Accountability

• Gender, racial, political, and recency biases risk skewing financial advice.
• Uncertainty about the AI’s decision‑making process weakens confidence in the system.

Bottom Line for Financial Decision-Making

While ChatGPT can assist with many finance tasks, its limitations and potential inaccuracies mean most advisors recommend not relying solely on the AI for financial guidance or decision‑making.

Key Takeaway

BestBrokers’ study underlines that AI offers a helpful companion for finance queries but should never replace a professional, personalized adviser.