OpenAI adds ChatGPT finance tool

OpenAI on May 15 began rolling out a personal-finance feature inside ChatGPT that lets U.S. Pro users connect bank, credit-card and investment accounts through Plaid and ask questions based on their own transaction data. (openai.com) The product is a preview, not a full release. OpenAI said it is starting with a smaller group of Pro users in the United States on web and iOS, with broader expansion planned later. The company said the tool supports more than 12,000 financial institutions and will add Intuit support later. (openai.com) What the feature does is closer to a personal-finance dashboard plus chatbot than a banking app. After users authenticate their accounts, ChatGPT can surface spending, bills, subscriptions, upcoming payments, net worth and investment information in one place, then answer questions about budgets, savings goals, debt payoff and major purchases using that account data as context. (openai.com) OpenAI is also drawing a hard line around what the tool cannot do. Its help documentation says ChatGPT is “not a fiduciary, registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, tax preparer, or law firm,” and cannot move money, pay bills, place trades, change retirement contributions or file taxes. The company says responses are for informational and planning purposes, and users remain responsible for financial decisions. (help.openai.com) The timing matters because OpenAI is pushing further into high-sensitivity use cases at the same time it is engaging European regulators on frontier models. CNBC reported on May 11 that OpenAI said it would grant the European Union access to GPT-5.5-Cyber, a cyber-focused variant of its latest model, through a limited preview for vetted cybersecurity teams. European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the access would let the Commission “follow deployment of the model very closely, and address security concerns.” (cnbc.com) That means two separate OpenAI tracks are moving at once. In consumer products, ChatGPT is being given deeper access to users’ financial lives. In Europe, OpenAI is presenting a more cooperative posture with officials who want visibility into advanced systems with possible cyber-risk implications. That connection is an inference from the timing of the two announcements, not a stated OpenAI strategy. (openai.com) The immediate next step on the finance side is a wider rollout. OpenAI said it plans to learn from early use before extending the feature to Plus users, with the longer-term goal of making it available to everyone. On the regulatory side, Regnier said further discussions with OpenAI were planned the week of May 11 around access to GPT-5.5-Cyber. (openai.com)