Claude and ChatGPT launch competing personal finance tools

New AI financial hubs

Anthropic recently launched a new feature called Personal Finance for its Claude AI. This tool is designed to compete directly with the Finances feature that OpenAI debuted for ChatGPT in May. Both platforms aim to help users organize their money by providing a deeper understanding of their personal spending habits.

Users can interact with these chatbots to discuss broad financial goals, such as planning a family vacation or creating a specific savings plan. The tools are not intended to provide professional financial advice, but they can help users visualize their monthly expenses and investments through generated dashboards.

To use either service, individuals must link their bank accounts to the platform. Both companies have partnered with Plaid, a service that allows the AI to connect with popular financial institutions like Bank of America, Capital One, and Chase.

How the data access works

When a user connects their bank account, both Claude and ChatGPT are granted read-only access to the information. This means the AI can view the data provided by the user but lacks the permission to make any actual changes or transactions within the accounts.

Anthropic has specified the exact scope of what Claude can see. The tool accesses the bank name, account name, account type, the last four digits of the account, current balances, credit limits, and up to two years of transaction history. This provides a historical look at spending patterns without exposing full account numbers.

OpenAI's Finances tool offers a similar scope of visibility for the user. It can see balances, transactions, investments, and liabilities. By pulling this data into a conversational interface, the AI can summarize complex financial statements into plain English summaries for the user.

Privacy and data training

The primary distinction between the two tools lies in how they handle user privacy. Anthropic states that conversations held within the Personal Finance hub are not used to train their models by default. Furthermore, Anthropic noted that if a user unlinks their bank account, the AI will no longer see any data previously provided to that specific feature.

OpenAI handles privacy differently by following the user's general model training settings. This means that by default, conversations with connected financial accounts may be used to improve the model unless the user takes action. To prevent this, users must navigate to the Data controls in ChatGPT and turn off the option to improve the model for everyone.

Data retention also differs slightly between the two giants. When a user disconnects their bank accounts from OpenAI, the company states that the synced account data will be deleted from their systems within 30 days. Anthropic emphasizes its privacy stance by highlighting that its tool contains no ads or sponsored recommendations for products like loans or savings accounts.

Future features and partnerships

OpenAI is already looking to expand the capabilities of its Finances tool through a partnership with Intuit. This collaboration is intended to cover more complex financial bases, such as answering tax questions or assisting with credit card applications. These additions would move the tool closer to a comprehensive financial assistant.

Anthropic is taking a different approach to growth for its Personal Finance feature. The company intends to seek feedback from banks, wealth managers, and financial services companies to help refine and improve the tool. They are looking for industry input to ensure the AI meets the needs of different types of financial users.

While both companies are currently focusing on visualization and goal setting, the trajectory suggests a move toward more integrated services. OpenAI appears to be moving toward a broader suite of financial actions, while Anthropic is focusing on refining the experience through industry partnerships.

Choosing the right tool

For users who prioritize privacy out of the box, Claude may be the preferred option because it does not use Personal Finance data for training by default. This removes the need for the user to hunt through settings menus to ensure their sensitive financial information remains private from the model's learning process.

Users who want a more integrated experience with major financial software might find OpenAI's path more appealing. The upcoming partnership with Intuit suggests that ChatGPT will eventually offer more specific utility for taxes and credit, which are common pain points for many people managing their money.

Ultimately, the choice depends on whether a user values the automatic privacy protections of Anthropic or the potential for broader financial utility offered by OpenAI. Both tools provide a way to see your money more clearly without the hassle of manual spreadsheet management.