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Artificial leaders intelligence companies often ask users (and investors) to imagine a not-so-distant future. AI coaches trained on personal data and past interactions help users achieve their wildest dreams. Want to be more active? Here’s an AI-powered workout. Want to track your long-term well-being? Try this AI health app. Want to solve money problems? There’s a personal finance chatbot for that. A lot, actually.
My goal is to be debt free by the end of 2025, and as a reporter who often tests new software, I was interested in trying out some of the AI financial advisors that have gained popularity in recent years. Hiring a human money manager can easily cost several thousand dollars, which is why more people, especially younger users, are turning to AI tools for advice. Some of Apple’s best free graphics financial programsI decided to try two well-reviewed options that offer chatbots to solve money problems: Cleo AI and Bright.
Both Cleo AI and Bright encourage users to connect their bank accounts to the app through a third-party service called Plaid. It allows chatbots breaking spending habits, helping users pay off debt and build credit. “Using bank data and what they tell us, Cleo will be your confidante or coach in your queue,” says Barney Hussey-Yeo, the company’s CEO and founder. “It will provide the right advice and the right products to help you make better financial decisions.”
Fair enough, but some of the instructions Cleo gave me went off track. The generative AI tool seemed mostly preoccupied with using my data, though it had some interesting moments like a friendly roast that highlighted where I’d overspent in unnecessary ways. personal information for sales opportunities. Bright was the same.
For example, I started a conversation by pretending I was sad and didn’t have enough money to buy groceries. According to Hussey-Yeo, Cleo’s main user demographic is young people who live paycheck to paycheck and “feel the pain of finances more than most people.” So I thought it would be something that users share all the time. Bot fake sympathy and immediately started encouraging me to check if I was eligible for a cash advance through the app.
After Cleo cleared my eligibility for a cash advance, I was offered a $6/month Cleo Plus membership. The first time I used the app, it offered a $130 cash advance split into $65 increments over two days. Users technically don’t have to pay a fee for a cash advance if they’re willing to wait an estimated three to four business days.
Cleo also offered me a same day transfer if I agreed to pay the $8 express fee. That means I have to pay back the $73 in about a week for the advance. After I didn’t do it the first time, the app raised my total limit to $200 the next day, split into two $100 increments. According to Hussey-Yeo, about a third of Cleo’s revenue comes from cash advances, with the rest through subscriptions and a card designed to help users. improve credit scores. In the end, Cleo felt more like an extra, short-term loan 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 promises up to $10,000 more through third-party lenders. Compared to other AI financial chatbots I’ve tested, Bright’s results included more confusing errors, such as claiming I’d lost more than $7,000 in insufficient funds payments over the past month, an absurdly incorrect amount.
