OpenAI aims to enable ChatGPT to connect with your bank accounts.

Your confidence in AI is about to face a new challenge: OpenAI is set to enable direct access to your bank accounts through ChatGPT. This upcoming feature, revealed in a preview, will allow users to securely link ChatGPT with Plaid, a platform that connects apps to over 12,000 financial institutions, including major names like Schwab, Fidelity, Chase, and Capital One.

OpenAI highlighted that over 200 million users turn to ChatGPT each month for financial inquiries, ranging from budgeting advice to strategies for reducing expenses. With this new integration, users can connect their financial accounts to gain a comprehensive view of their finances, tailored to their personal goals and lifestyle, all while leveraging OpenAI’s advanced reasoning capabilities.

Once linked, users will have access to a dashboard showcasing their spending history, including active subscriptions. ChatGPT can assist with significant financial decisions, such as purchasing a home or applying for credit cards, and can alert users to any shifts in their spending patterns.

This financial feature will initially roll out to U.S. users subscribed to ChatGPT’s $200-per-month Pro tier. OpenAI plans to gather insights from early adopters before expanding access to Plus subscribers, with the aim of making it available to all users eventually.

This announcement follows the introduction of ChatGPT Health in January, a service aimed at addressing health-related queries, which also requires a high level of trust regarding user data privacy and security.

To alleviate concerns, OpenAI assures users that they will have control over their data, including the option to disconnect their bank accounts from ChatGPT at any time. However, the company retains up to 30 days to delete user data from its systems. Users can also manage “financial memories,” such as goals or obligations saved by the chatbot. Additionally, users can choose whether their data contributes to AI model training by enabling the option to “Improve the model for everyone.”

While ChatGPT won’t be able to alter your bank accounts or access full account numbers, it will have visibility into your balances, transactions, stock portfolios, and liabilities like mortgages and credit card debt. However, OpenAI has not clarified how it will utilize this financial information beyond AI training or what measures are in place to safeguard users’ financial data from potential breaches. What could possibly go wrong?