Leaders in artificial intelligence companies often ask users (and investors) to imagine a not-so-distant future in which AI coaches, trained on personal information and past interactions, help users achieve their wildest dreams. Want to be more active? Here’s an exercise designed by AI. Want to monitor your long-term well-being? Try this AI health app. Do you want to solve your money problems? There is a personal finance chatbot for that. Multiple, actually.
My goal is to be debt free by the end of 2025, and as a journalist who often tests new software, I was curious to try out some of the artificial intelligence financial advisors that have gained popularity in recent years. Hiring a human money manager can easily cost several thousand dollars, so more and more people, especially younger users, are turning to AI tools for advice. From Apple’s free content charts finance applicationsI decided to try two well-reviewed options that offer chatbots aimed at solving money problems: Cleo AI and Bright.
Both Cleo AI and Bright encourage users to link their bank account to the app through a third-party service called Plaid. This makes it possible chatbots break consumer habits, help users pay off debts and build credit. “Using your bank details and what you’ve told us, Cleo will be your kind of confidant or coach,” says Barney Hussey-Yeo, the company’s CEO and founder. “She will give you the right advice and the right products to help you make better financial decisions.”
Fair enough, but some of the guidance Cleo gave me got me off that path. While there were some interesting moments, like a friendly highlighting roast where I overspended in unnecessary ways, the generative AI tool seemed mostly preoccupied with using my personal data for opportunities to increase sales. Bright was the same.
For example, I started one conversation pretending to be sad and not have enough money to buy groceries. According to Hussey-Yeo, Cleo’s core user demographic is young people who live paycheck to paycheck and “feel the pain of finances more than most people.” So I thought this would be something users share all the time. Bot feigned sympathy and immediately started encouraging me to use the app to check if I qualify for a cash advance.
After Cleo confirmed my eligibility for a cash advance, I was asked to sign up for a $6 monthly Cleo Plus membership. The first time I used it, the app offered a cash advance of $130, split into $65 over two days. Users technically don’t have to pay a cash advance fee if they’re willing to wait an estimated three to four business days — a tall order for people living paycheck to paycheck and a distraction from my goal of paying off previous debts.
Cleo also offered me a same-day money transfer if I agreed to pay an $8 express fee. This would mean that about a week later I would have to pay back the $73 for the down payment. After failing 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 remainder generated through subscriptions and cards designed to help customers improve your credit scores. 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, touted as an “AI Debt Manager,” does. A subscription to Bright’s AI assistant costs more, at $39 for three months of access, but also promises access to more cash, up to $10,000 through third-party lenders. Compared to other AI financial chatbots I’ve tested, Bright’s results included more confusing errors, such as claiming that I lost more than $7,000 in insufficient funds fees over the past month, which is an absurdly wrong amount.