40% of Americans Use AI Chatbots for Financial Advice, but Trust Remains Low at Just 27%

Growing Adoption Despite Limited Trust

Americans are increasingly turning to AI chatbots for financial guidance, but confidence in the technology remains surprisingly low. A JD Power survey of 4,000 consumers found that 40% had used AI for financial help within the past three months1

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, while a separate Gallup poll conducted in partnership with Edward Jones revealed that about 1 in 5 Americans who sought financial advice in the past year turned to AI2

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. Yet trust in AI for financial advice remains strikingly low, with only 27% of U.S. adults expressing "some" or "a great deal" of confidence in AI's expertise for managing money2

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, and just 3% trusting AI "a great deal"3

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The Gallup survey of 5,075 U.S. adults ages 21 and older, conducted between March 20 and April 6, 2026, revealed a stark disconnect between trusted resources and actual usage patterns5

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. While about 8 in 10 U.S. adults have at least "some" confidence in financial advisers, only about one-third of those seeking financial advice actually turned to a professional. Far more—73%—relied on their own internet research2

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What People Ask AI Chatbots About Money

Among those using AI for financial management, the top use-cases were price comparison at 24%, finding discounts or deals at 22%, and identifying new ways to make or save money at 21%4

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. The JD Power survey found that the biggest group using AI chatbots for financial advice were labeled as "overextended," meaning they might be over budget with some debt1

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. These users reported asking questions about stretching their dollars and received advice like choosing store-brand cereal over name brands.

David Kendrick, a 53-year-old IT manager in Dayton, Ohio, uses ChatGPT so frequently for financial decision-making that he calls it "Chatty." He has consulted it on everything from managing his home equity line of credit to handling a recent salary bump, asking whether to direct more income toward debt or his Roth IRA. The AI suggested the Roth, and Kendrick followed the advice1

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Where AI Gets It Right and Wrong

Taha Choukhmane, an associate professor at MIT Sloan School of Management, co-authored research finding that AI does well at providing broad economic advice. "It tends to push people toward saving more, participating more in the stock market, de-risking as they get older," Choukhmane said. "It gets a lot of things right"1

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. In the study, researchers had 1,000 adults write prompts asking an AI model for advice, then simulated the lifetime effects of following that guidance. Overall, following the AI financial advisory services would have helped users accumulate more savings.

However, AI struggles with complex financial scenarios. The research revealed that AI didn't always align with what human financial experts would suggest, especially for complicated requests like handling a job loss. In such cases, the AI recommended spending cuts the researchers considered too harsh and failed to advise dipping into emergency savings1

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. The researchers also concluded that AI didn't give good advice on portfolio rebalancing and suggested riskier financial moves for men than for women.

Danielle Harrison, founder of Harrison Financial Planning in Columbia, Missouri, tested an AI model by asking how to structure her business when her husband joined her firm. "It gave an answer that it was sure about. It was like, 'You need to be an S corporation,'" she recalled. But as Harrison provided more information, "It completely changed tunes by the end of it," instead recommending an LLC. "If I had not had that background knowledge, it would have given me the wrong information," Harrison said1

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Generational Divide in AI Adoption

Younger generations are more likely to use AI for financial planning, while older adults prefer professional financial advisers. About a quarter of Gen Z and millennials who looked for financial advice in the past year went to AI, compared to 16% of Gen Xers and just 7% of baby boomers2

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. Affordability often deters younger adults from hiring professional advisers. While only 14% of Gen Z adults and 21% of millennials who sought guidance turned to a professional financial adviser, that rose to 34% of Gen X adults and 55% of baby boomers.

Expert Recommendations and Concerns

Experts suggest using AI as a starting point rather than a sole source for financial guidance. Choukhmane recommends using AI to explain and define basic concepts. "If you're interested in knowing what the stock market is, what the difference between a mutual fund and an index fund is. Using AI to explain these concepts can be very useful because it can empower people to get the most out of these methods," he said2

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. He also advises asking AI to provide references to trusted sources to verify information.

Bobbi Rebell, certified financial planner and founder of Financial Wellness Strategies, emphasized concerns about fiduciary responsibility. "Fiduciary responsibility is very real," Rebell said. "There's no AI that is a fiduciary. It doesn't really know your life; it's not asking you all the questions"2

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. Certified financial planners have legal responsibility to give the most fitting advice, while AI tools don't carry such obligations.

Sharon Bloodworth, CEO of White Oaks Wealth Advisors, said that in her experience, AI is wrong more than it's right. However, she expects AI to improve and sees potential to democratize financial advice for people without access to human advisers. "Ignoring it would be almost like saying, 'Don't pick up a calculator' or 'Don't get into a car, and just still ride a horse,'" she said1

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. Tim de Silva, an assistant professor of finance at Stanford Graduate School of Business, noted that "AI seems to be nudging people in the right direction. It's not perfect, but it's better than the way many people make decisions, such as talking to friends and family or doing simple internet searches"5

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