Artificial leaders Intelligence companies often ask users (and investors) to imagine a not-too-distant future where AI coaches, trained on personal data and past interactions, help users achieve their wildest dreams. Want to be more active? Here is an exercise designed by AI. Want to monitor your long-term well-being? Try this AI health app. Do you want to fix your money problems? There’s a personal finance chatbot for that. A lot, actually.

My goal is to be debt free by the end of 2025, and as a journalist who is always testing new software, I was curious about trying some of the AI ​​financial advisors that have gained popularity recently. years. Hiring a human money manager can easily cost several thousand dollars, so many people, especially young users, turn to AI tools for advice. From Apple’s top charts for free financial appsI decided to try two well-reviewed options that offer chatbots intended to solve money problems: Cleo AI and Bright.

Both Cleo AI and Bright encourage users to connect their bank account to the app through a third-party service called Plaid. This allows for chatbots to break spending habits, help users pay off debt, and build credit. “Using the bank’s data and what you tell us, Cleo can be your kind of confidant or coach,” said Barney Hussey-Yeo, the company’s CEO and founder. “He will provide the right advice and the right products to help you make better financial decisions.”

Fair enough, but some of the guidance Cleo gave me went off track. While it has its fun moments, such as an amicable roast that highlights where I spend in unnecessary ways, the generative AI tool seems primarily concerned with using my personal data for upselling opportunities. Bright is the same.

For example, I started a conversation pretending to be depressed and not have enough money to buy groceries. According to Hussey-Yeo, Cleo’s core demographic of users is young people who live paycheck to paycheck and “feel the financial pain more than most people.” So I think this is the kind of thing that users share all the time. The bot feigned sympathy and immediately started encouraging me to check if I was eligible for a cash advance through the app.

After Cleo cleared my eligibility for a cash advance, I was prompted to sign up for a $6 monthly Cleo Plus membership. The first time I used it, the app offered a $130 cash advance, split into $65 increments over two days. Users technically do not have to pay a fee for a cash advance if they are willing to wait approximately three to four business days—a difficult task for people living between paychecks and a distraction from my goal of paying off past debts.

Cleo also offered me a same day money transfer, if I agreed to pay an $8 express fee. This meant I had to pay $73 about a week later for the advance. After missing it my first time, the app increased 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 rest generated through subscriptions and a card designed to help users. improve their credit scores. In the end, Cleo felt like a temptation to take on more, short-term debt, rather than a real solution to my money issues.

Although the Cleo app does not currently include offers for larger loans, Bright’s financial chatbot, which is marketed as an “AI debt manager.” A subscription to Bright’s AI assistant costs more, $39 for three months of access, but it also promises access to more money, up to $10,000 through third-party lenders. party. Compared to other AI finance chatbots I’ve tested, Bright’s outputs include more confusing errors, such as claiming that I lost more than $7,000 in insufficient funds payments last month, a false false value.