Why Americans Are Letting AI Decide

Americans are not just asking AI chatbots about money. They are letting them decide. A new PensionBee survey of 1,000 AI users found that nearly six in ten (57%) would accept a chatbot's answer on a financial decision without checking it. That includes choices that cannot be easily undone, like how to allocate investments or when to retire. Nearly one in four say a chatbot has already given them wrong information about their money. Some found out only after they had acted on it. The people most willing to trust the answers they get are also the ones most likely to say they have been given bad advice. Two-thirds of Gen Z respondents would let AI act on their behalf, and 31% say they have already received unsuitable financial guidance from a chatbot.

Key takeaways

Most AI users surveyed (57%) trust the model to make some financial decisions on their behalf‍

Nearly one in four (23%) have been given incorrect financial information by a chatbot, and 5% realized only after they had acted on it

The majority of people (53%) harbor data privacy concerns, even as they share bank statements, salary information, and debt information with AI

Gen Z and Millennials are more likely than Gen X or Baby Boomers to share sensitive financial information with chatbots

Analysis

The 24/7 advisor who will never pass judgment

More than one in four Americans who use AI for money (27%) said they turn to a chatbot to avoid the stigma or judgment of a human advisor. People who avoid advisors often worry about past decisions, fear bad news, or feel embarrassed about what they do not know, according to NAPA.

Convenience matters too. Whether it is 5 a.m. or midnight, a chatbot is on standby. Among frequent users, 51% said the biggest benefit is that AI is available at any hour. Respondents also cited speed of response (40%), low or no cost (35%), and lack of access to a financial advisor (18%).

So the appeal is a source that answers instantly, costs almost nothing, and never makes anyone feel small. What people do with that access is where the picture gets more complicated.

Americans are handing AI their decision-making power

Most people make thousands of daily decisions. In fact, research suggests the average adult may make over 35,000 conscious decisions a day, but not all will be consequential.

Americans tend to consult multiple sources when making financial decisions, according to Gallup. But AI could be encouraging a more contained approach among frequent users.

Not every financial decision has a right answer. Two people can make opposite choices and both be reasonable, because the right call depends on someone's own circumstances and what they want their life to look like. For example, pausing retirement contributions for just one year during maternity leave may save the caregiver $5,000 today, but could lead to an account reduction of $79,000 by retirement. hich is more valuable depends on the circumstance.

A chatbot can give one straightforward solution, and PensionBee found that 57% of respondents would take it, across both high - and low - stakes decisions.

PensionBee defines a high-stakes decision as one that can lead to drastically different outcomes and that may not be reversible once made. A low-stakes decision leads to roughly equivalent outcomes and carries limited cost.

Respondents said they would not need to verify the following decisions if AI made them.

Actions based on high-stakes decisions recommended by AI:

Nearly one in five (18%) would proceed with an investment allocation recommendation from AI without verifying it
16% would proceed with a major purchase
15% would proceed with a retirement age recommendation

Actions based on lower-stakes decisions recommended by AI:

35% would proceed with a recommendation of how much they should save each month
26% would proceed with a recommendation to cancel certain subscriptions
22% would proceed with a recommendation to pay off debts in a certain order

This finding held true both for calculation-based tasks, like determining the correct order to pay off debt, and judgment calls, like how to best allocate investments. Just 43% would not let AI make an autonomous financial decision on their behalf.

Most users take their chatbot’s answers at face value

Most Americans who rely on AI for financial advice claim they have never been given incorrect or unsuitable information (71%), with Baby Boomers (82%) most likely to show confidence in the accuracy of their answers.

Current estimates show AI models can be wrong on general topics as often as 60% of the time. Asking informed questions of AI can lead to more informed answers. But knowing what to ask and how to evaluate the answer depends on financial literacy, which has slumped to an all-time low.

Nearly one in four (23%) respondents know they’ve caught mistakes or inaccurate financial information provided by their chatbot, but 5% realized only after they had acted on it. 6% say they are not sure.

Younger users offer the most and get caught out the most

Younger generations, who report the lowest levels of financial literacy, were also the most likely to trust their chatbot’s judgment. Millennials and Gen Z were more likely not only to catch faulty information but also more likely to have already acted on it.

31% of Gen Z say they’ve received unsuitable financial advice from a chatbot and 10% noticed only after it was too late.

Willingness to let AI decide falls steadily with age. PensionBee found that 66% of Gen Z would let AI act autonomously on their behalf, compared to 62% of Millennials, 56% of Gen X, and 47% of Baby Boomers.

Privacy concerns do not change behavior

Many AI users reported sharing personal details with chatbots in exchange for more accurate responses. Financial statements and information may contain sensitive or identifying data, like a home address, Social Security number, and account numbers.

The data privacy risks of AI are not fully understood. A recent study by Stanford found that leading AI companies are pulling user conversations for training, highlighting privacy risks and a need for clearer policies.

PensionBee asked: Which of the following types of information have you ever shared with an AI chatbot when discussing your finances?

Monthly spending or budget details

32%

Income or salary

29%

Debts (loans, credit cards, mortgage)

20%

Account balances

17%

Investment or retirement account details

11%

Bank or credit card statements (uploaded or pasted)

Account numbers, credit card numbers

Passport number, driver's license numbers, Social Security number

Respondents were most likely to share high-level data, like information about spending, salary, and debt. However, some recalled sharing more identifying information with chatbots, like bank or credit card statements, account numbers, or passport information.

Younger generations were more likely to trust AI with personal information than older users.

Millennials (10%) and Gen Z (9%) were more likely to have uploaded bank or credit card statements into chats with AI compared to Baby Boomers (4%).
Gen Z (46%) and Millennials (40%) were almost twice as likely to share monthly spending or budget details with AI as Baby Boomers (23%).

Across generations, even users who input personal data into AI don’t always feel comfortable about the practice. 53% of Americans cite ‘moderate’ or ‘extreme’ concerns about information shared in a chat session, while just 12% say they are ‘not at all concerned.

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Chatbots and financial confidence

For all generations, chatting with AI about money was more likely to lead to financial confidence than anxiety.

But younger users felt the biggest lift. Gen Z (17%) and Millennials (14%) were significantly more likely to report feeling “much more confident” after speaking with AI than Baby Boomers (4%).
‍

Overall, how has using an AI chatbot for your finances made you feel about your financial situation?

Confident

44%

Neutral

46%

Anxious

10%

Much more confident · 9%

Somewhat more confident · 35%

No real difference · 33%

Not sure / other · 13%

Somewhat more anxious · 7%

Much more anxious · 3%

Open conversations about money can reduce financial anxiety, even when nothing else about a person’s financial picture changes.

For people who cannot get access to personalized financial guidance, a chatbot can genuinely impact how they feel. However, feeling better about a decision is not the same thing as making a better one.

The $17 query with a $25,000 price tag

However, even low-stakes financial decisions can bear consequences.

Most respondents would give their chatbot the final word on a range of financial decisions, and for one in four respondents (26%) this includes letting AI pick what subscriptions to cancel. Prior research shows that redirecting just a $17 canceled subscription toward a 401(k) or IRA contribution can lead to over $25,000 more by retirement.

Without getting anything “wrong,” what a chatbot deems a $17 matter could eventually grow to be a $25,000 issue. And given that a similar number trust AI’s judgment on more consequential decisions, the stakes may be higher.

The penalty for free, "no-judgment” financial advice could be severe.

Four questions to ask before you act on AI money advice

1. Would this be hard to reverse? Investment mixes and account transfers are worth a second opinion.

2. Did I give it enough about me? A model that does not know your age, income, or timeline is guessing at the parts that matter most.

3. Would I be fine if this information made it out of the chat? If not, keep account numbers and statements out of it.

4. What is the math behind the advice? Ask the chatbot to show it, then check it somewhere else.

Methodology

This survey was conducted online among 1,000 U.S. adults aged 18 and older, all of whom self-reported using an AI chatbot for help with their personal finances. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from Attest. Fieldwork ran July 18–21, 2026. The sample was non-probability-based and employed demographic quotas for age, gender, and region. Voluntary Participation: Participation in the survey was voluntary. Respondents were free to decline participation or skip any questions they chose not to answer. Participants were not required to be PensionBee clients to participate.

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