OpenAI links bank accounts

OpenAI on May 15 began rolling out a preview of a personal-finance feature in ChatGPT that lets U.S. Pro users connect bank, credit-card and investment accounts and ask questions based on their own financial data. The company said the feature is available on web and iOS and gives users a dashboard for spending, subscriptions, upcoming payments and portfolio performance. (openai.com) OpenAI said the accounts are connected through Plaid and that the initial release supports more than 12,000 financial institutions. The release puts a mainstream consumer chatbot into a category long occupied by budgeting apps, broker dashboards and bank tools. OpenAI said more than 200 million people already come to ChatGPT each month for help with budgeting, investments and planning, and said recent advances in GPT-5.5 improved the model’s handling of the “complex, context-dependent questions” common in personal finance. ### Which users can connect accounts right now? OpenAI said the feature is starting as a preview for a smaller group of Pro users in the United States. (openai.com) The company said the rollout is gradual, meaning some eligible users may not see it immediately. The May 15 release notes say users can open a Finances section in ChatGPT or start from a chat by asking “@Finances, connect my accounts.” After authentication, ChatGPT syncs and categorizes the data, which OpenAI said may take a few minutes. (openai.com) ### What can ChatGPT do once the accounts are linked? OpenAI said the product can show where money is going and answer questions grounded in a user’s financial context, goals and stated priorities. The company listed example uses including travel-spend analysis, subscription review, savings planning, debt payoff and scenario planning. (openai.com) The release notes say Finances can display spending, bills, subscriptions, net worth and investment information in one place. OpenAI said users can ask questions directly in chat or use the Finances page to review recurring charges and upcoming payments. (openai.com) ### Which firms are involved in the connections? Plaid is the named account-linking partner in OpenAI’s announcement. OpenAI said Intuit support is “coming soon,” indicating the company plans to add another major financial-data connection layer after the initial preview. (openai.com) OpenAI’s announcement did not publish a full list of supported banks and brokerages. Third-party reports, including TechCrunch and other outlets indexed on May 15, said the supported network includes large institutions such as Chase, Fidelity, Robinhood, American Express and Charles Schwab through Plaid’s existing integrations, but OpenAI itself described the launch more broadly as support for more than 12,000 institutions. (help.openai.com) (openai.com) ### Does the product let ChatGPT move money or give regulated advice? OpenAI’s May 15 release notes say ChatGPT “cannot move money, pay bills, place trades, file taxes, or act as a financial, legal, tax, or investment adviser.” The company framed the tool as a planning and understanding product rather than an execution service. That language is important because the new feature goes beyond general prompts about budgeting and into analysis based on linked personal accounts. (techcrunch.com) OpenAI’s product post said users remain “in control of your data,” but the company also said the preview is limited at first so it can learn from real-world use before widening access. ### How closely is this tied to GPT-5.5? OpenAI linked the launch directly to GPT-5.5 in its product post, saying “recent advances in GPT-5.5” made ChatGPT stronger at reasoning through personal-finance questions. (help.openai.com) GPT-5.5 itself was introduced on April 23, and OpenAI later updated ChatGPT’s default model with GPT-5.5 Instant on May 5. OpenAI said the finance preview will be used to learn before a broader rollout. The company’s next named step is expansion to Plus users, with Intuit support also listed as coming soon. (openai.com)