I connected ChatGPT to my bank, and it’s my go-to finance app now – here’s how (and why)

Some people may see a prompt inviting them to connect their finances. I did not.

Instead, I found the feature in the ChatGPT sidebar under More, then opened Finances from there. I also Googled it and found a direct link to the experience. OpenAI said users can even launch it from a regular ChatGPT conversation by typing something like, “@Finances, connect my accounts.”

Also: I tested ChatGPT Plus vs. Gemini Pro to see which is better

Either way, once I found and launched it, ChatGPT prompted me to start linking my accounts through Plaid. Afterward, I noticed ChatGPT tucked Finances under my Pinned area, so I could easily access it.

After opening Finances, choose Connect Finances. ChatGPT explained I was about to connect my financial accounts so it could sync my data. This is where I slowed down to read the fine print.

Remember, I’m not just approving a random app permission. I’m giving ChatGPT access to a lot of my sensitive financial information, including my balances, transactions, investments, and debts. But that’s the whole point, right? Still, read everything carefully, and check out OpenAI’s own blog post.

Also: Claude Cowork heads to the cloud as data shows 90% of sessions aren’t for coding

ChatGPT used Plaid to link my accounts. I already had a free Plaid account, so it was straightforward.

I signed in to Plaid, then started adding my banks and financial institutions. I searched for them one by one, authenticated the account, approved the connection, and that’s it. Easy peasy. Depending on the institution, multifactor authentication may be required to approve a connection.

I connected almost all of my accounts, including SeaComm, Chase, Capital One, Fidelity Investments, and PayPal. I do have an Affirm account, but at the time of writing, it wasn’t working with Plaid yet.

After authentication, ChatGPT begins syncing everything. OpenAI said this can take a few minutes. 

I checked after about five minutes by asking ChatGPT questions about my finances, and it told me it was still syncing. So, I stepped away for an hour, came back, and finally, everything looked good to go.

Once accounts are connected, ChatGPT Finances displays a dashboard with an overview. OpenAI said this can include portfolio performance, spending, subscriptions, upcoming payments, and more.

On my Finances screen, I see the option to start a chat, along with several preloaded prompts, such as “Where could I reduce spending, subscriptions, or fees this year?” There’s also a dashboard that breaks down spending by month and category, upcoming activity, subscriptions, bills, and recent transactions.

Also: How ChatGPT Lockdown mode protects you from data theft

There are options to manage my connected accounts and check their balances from this screen as well. I can also easily access all my past chats with ChatGPT Finances from this dashboard.

So far, what I like most about ChatGPT Finances is that it’s not limited to a single checking account. I can add several accounts, plus credit cards, investment and retirement accounts, lenders, some buy-now-pay-later services, all of which are essential if I want ChatGPT to really understand my budget.

Also: How to audit what ChatGPT knows about you – and reclaim privacy

It can give me a full financial picture, including long-term planning, not just current cash flow. I figure the more complete the picture is, the more useful the answers from ChatGPT may be.

Here are some of the things I asked first:

• What recurring charges have I had in the past six months?
• Which subscriptions increased in price recently?
• What are my biggest spending categories this month?
• How much did I spend on groceries, restaurants, and takeout over the past 90 days?
• Which credit card should I prioritize paying down first?
• Am I saving enough each month based on my current income and spending?
• How much did I contribute to my Roth IRA this year?
• What is my current investment allocation across stocks, bonds, and cash?
• Are there any unusual charges I should review?
• What would happen if I paid an extra $200 a month toward student loan debt?

OpenAI also said I can feed ChatGPT additional financial context in a chat, such as a savings goal, mortgage, or debt owed to family, and ChatGPT will use its memory for future conversations.