Canadians Increase Use of AI for Financial Advice

MoneySense reports on growing Canadian use of AI tools for financial guidance. Per a Money Mentors survey of 1,501 Canadian adults conducted via the Angus Reid Forum from May 19-21, 2026, 15% of Canadians used AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini for financial guidance in the past year - a category that barely existed three years ago (BusinessWire; MoneySense). A separate Ipsos study found 33% of Canadians are already using AI for financial management broadly (Ipsos). MoneySense also reports 32% consulted broader online sources for financial advice. MoneySense notes public debate escalated after Mel Robbins encouraged people to upload financial information to AI tools, drawing pushback from financial professionals and privacy advocates over consent and data security.

The context behind the acceleration: OpenAI in May 2026 launched a personal finance feature in ChatGPT, built on a Plaid partnership covering more than 12,000 financial institutions including Citi and Chase. The feature lets ChatGPT Pro users connect bank accounts to receive personalized budgeting and portfolio advice; the system can read balances, transactions, investments, and liabilities but cannot make account changes or see full account numbers (TechCrunch; OpenAI). eMarketer notes the integration moves financial conversations outside traditional banking apps, increasing competitive pressure on incumbents.

MoneySense reports younger Canadians lead adoption, with those aged 18-34 most likely to consult AI for financial guidance, compared with those 55+ who are least likely (17%). Among Canadians who used online sources for financial advice, 69% cited faster access, 27% wanted anonymity, and 23% sought advice without feeling judged, per the Money Mentors survey (BusinessWire).

Financial professionals and privacy advocates cited by MoneySense caution that AI tools are not registered advisers, carry liability gaps, and require users to share sensitive account-level data with third-party platforms. Observers note the shift from generic queries to account-linked guidance raises materially different data-minimization and consent requirements, with no specific Canadian regulatory framework yet in place.