ChatGPT now wants access to your bank account so it can tell you to stop ordering takeout

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "ChatGPT now wants access to your bank account so it can tell you to stop ordering takeout", "datePublished": "2026-05-15T19:43:49+02:00", "dateModified": "2026-05-15T20:46:28+02:00", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matthias Bastian" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "The Decoder" }, "description": "OpenAI is turning ChatGPT into a personal financial assistant. Pro users in the US can now connect their bank accounts through Plaid to get personalized analysis based on real transaction data. The feature runs on GPT-5.5 Thinking and will eventually roll out to all users. OpenAI warns the chatbot is still not a licensed financial advisor.", "articleBody": "OpenAI is testing a personal finance feature that lets US Pro subscribers connect their bank accounts to ChatGPT for tailored analysis.\r\n\r\nOpenAI has rolled out a\u00a0preview of this new tool\u00a0on 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.\r\n\r\nWith 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.\r\n\r\nAccounts 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.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_35512\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2560\"] The connection process runs through Plaid, giving the chatbot read-only access to user data. | Image: OpenAI[\/caption]\r\nReal data replaces generic advice\r\nThe 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.\r\n\r\nIn 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.\r\n\r\n[video width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" mp4=\"https:\/\/the-decoder.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Personal-Finance-16x9-Final.mp4\" poster=\"https:\/\/the-decoder.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/chatgpt_finance.png\"][\/video]\r\n\r\nFinance 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.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_35513\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"872\"] Image: OpenAI[\/caption]\r\n\r\nEventually, 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.\r\nChatGPT can see balances but can't move money\r\nChatGPT 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.\r\n\r\nWhether 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.\r\n\r\nFinally, OpenAI notes that ChatGPT is not a licensed financial advisor or tax professional, and its outputs should always be verified.", "isAccessibleForFree": "False", "hasPart": { "@type": "WebPageElement", "isAccessibleForFree": "False", "cssSelector": ".paywall-active" } }