Leaders at artificial Intelligence companies often ask users (and investors) to imagine a not-so-distant future where AI coaches, trained on personal data and past interactions, help users realize their wildest dreams. Do you want to be more active? Here is a workout designed by AI. Do you want to monitor your well-being in the long term? Try this AI health app. Do you want to solve your money problems? That's what a personal finance chatbot is for. Several actually.
My goal is to be debt-free by the end of 2025, and as a reporter who often tests new software, I was curious about trying out some of the AI financial advisors that have gained popularity in recent years. Hiring a human money manager can easily cost a few thousand dollars, so more people, especially younger users, are turning to AI tools for advice. From Apple's top list of free financial apps, I decided to try two well-rated options that offer chatbots aimed at solving money problems: Cleo AI and Bright.
Both Cleo AI and Bright encourage users to connect their bank account to the app through a third-party service called Plaid. This allows the chatbots to break their spending habits, help users pay off debt and build credit. “Based on the bank records and what you've said to us, Cleo will be your kind of confidante or coach,” said Barney Hussey-Yeo, CEO and founder of the company. “She provides the right advice and products to help you make better financial decisions.”
Fair enough, but some of the guidance Cleo gave me deviated from that path. While it had compelling moments, such as an amicable roast that highlighted where I had unnecessarily overspent, the generative AI tool seemed mainly concerned with using my personal data for upselling opportunities. Bright was the same.
For example, I started a conversation pretending I was sad and didn't have enough money to buy groceries. According to Hussey-Yeo, Cleo's core group of users are young people who live paycheck to paycheck and “feel the pain of finance more than most people.” So I thought this would be something that users always shared. The bot feigned sympathy and immediately started encouraging me to check through the app to see if I qualified for an advance.
After Cleo determined I qualified for a cash advance, I was prompted to sign up for a $6 monthly Cleo Plus membership. The first time I used it, the app offered a $130 cash advance, broken down into $65 increments over two days. Users don't technically have to pay any fees for the cash advance if they're willing to wait an estimated three to four business days — a difficult feat for people living between paychecks and a distraction from my goal of paying off previous debt .
Cleo also offered to wire me the money on the same day, if I agreed to pay an $8 express fee. This would mean that I would have to pay back $73 for the advance about a week later. After I didn't go through with it the first time, the next day the app increased my total limit to $200, split into two $100 increments. According to Hussey-Yeo, about a third of Cleo's revenue comes from cash advances, while the remaining amount is earned through subscriptions and a card designed to help users improve their credit score. Ultimately, Cleo felt more like a temptation to take on additional short-term debt than a real solution to my money problems.
While the Cleo app doesn't currently include offers for larger loans, Bright's financial chatbot, marketed as an “AI debt manager,” does. A subscription to Bright's AI assistant costs more, $39 for three months of access, but also promises access to more cash, up to $10,000, through third-party lenders. Compared to the other AI chatbot for finance I tested, Bright's results included more confusing errors, such as claiming that I lost more than $7,000 in insufficient funds fees last month, an absurdly wrong amount.
