Martin Lewis shared some thoughts on how to use AI to help with your finances (Image: ITV)
People are increasingly using AI tools with everyday tasks such as their finances. Consumer expert Martin Lewis has shared some thoughts on when these tools can be a big help, as well as when you should avoid using them to crunch the numbers.
He said the big question that concerns him with AI and large language models is what sources they use to provide information. Speaking on his BBC podcast, he urged: “When it comes to what you do with your money, you really do need a trusted source.”
He said he thinks that in future the technology will develop so that AI will be trained to only use trusted sources. Mr Lewis said one area of your finances where AI can be very useful is with budgeting, as it is very good at spotting patterns.
‘Absolutely brilliant’
The consumer champion said: “For budgeting, spotting patterns, spotting things that you’re doing that you wouldn’t necessarily notice that you’re doing, it will be absolutely brilliant.” However, he was wary of simply inputting your bank statements for it to look over them, to see how you can trim your spending.
He warned against sharing details with whatever AI tool you are using that “either could be used to defraud you or details you wouldn’t want to go anywhere else”. He explained that when you use AI, the data is used to train future AI, so your information is not private.
There are some models where your information is not used to train future AI, but it’s worth checking this before handing over your details. Mr Lewis said AI is also “really, really useful” to read through a lengthy terms and conditions, such as for a travel insurance policy.
He said you could then check the information is correct by asking it to point you to the section of the document where it got the information from. However, there are some tasks where you should steer clear of using AI to help you, Mr Lewis warns.
‘I definitely wouldn’t’
He warned: “I definitely wouldn’t use it to tell me what I should invest in. I definitely wouldn’t use it for tax benefits or pension decisions without checking, and I definitely wouldn’t, unless I knew it was a locked-in, secure environment, upload my entire financial life, because I think there is a risk of access to scammers.”
He added that he wasn’t sure how easy it would be for a hacker to get your financial details from an AI tool, nor whether some AI tools are completely safe to use. Thus he thinks this security risk is a “legitimate consideration” for the time being.
Another word of caution from Mr Lewis is about the different levels of AI you can get, as these can differ widely. He said: “There is a massive difference between the answers you get on different levels of AI.
“Most people are on the quick or the instant version, and if you’re on the quick and the instant version, that is designed to give you a quick, instant, may I say somewhat flippant answer.”
But you may get a much better response if you use the more advanced versions of these tools, he said. Mr Lewis said: “If you start to go up to your medium level or even your pro level, if you have access to it, as some people will have through work, the entire research base and what it’s checking and cross-checking itself is much, much more rigid. And certainly if you’re doing financial stuff, you want to be on the highest level that you can possibly be on if you’re doing important financial stuff.”
Even if you are using this top notch tech, the key principle remains to check the results. Mr Lewis urged: “And you always, even then, want to still continue to double check.”
