A new study in the Journal of Financial Planning prompted seven widely available AI programs — ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, DeepSeek, Gemini, Meta AI and Perplexity — with questions about emergency savings, asset allocation and withdrawals from a retirement portfolio. It found 'significant variation' in how the chatbots answered, and concluded GenAI-driven responses 'may sound confident but can still be incomplete, misleading, or incorrect.' The study also flagged recommendations that were inaccurate or demographically biased, varying widely depending on which program a consumer used.
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Expert: Journal of Financial Planning study authors / CNBC, Financial planning researchers & CNBC personal-finance desk The study, published in the Journal of Financial Planning, put seven widely available AI programs — ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, DeepSeek, Gemini, Meta AI and Perplexity — through questions on emergency savings, asset allocation and retirement-portfolio withdrawals. Its core finding was 'significant variation' in how the chatbots answered, with GenAI responses that 'may sound confident but can still be incomplete, misleading, or incorrect.' Some recommendations were inaccurate or demographically biased, and the answer a consumer got depended heavily on which program they used. The researchers and outside experts advise treating AI as a starting point for financial questions, not a final authority — a position echoed by MIT Sloan's Andrew Lo, who has noted AI lacks fiduciary duty. CNBC personal-finance reporter Greg Iacurci covered the findings July 7, 2026. For anything with real money on the line — tax planning, estate questions, retirement withdrawals — verify AI output with a licensed professional before acting. Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/07/ai-personal-finance-advice.html
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