Why OpenAI Tapped Plaid for Secure ChatGPT Account Linking

Consumers are turning to conversational AI to help manage money at scale.

In late 2025, Lloyds Banking Group reported that more than 28 million UK adults use AI for financial guidance, making it the country’s top AI use case.

What's more, in 2026, a study from the US Bank found that the share of Americans using AI to help manage finances rose from 10% to 55%. Yet only 18% said they are comfortable allowing AI to make major financial decisions.

This trust gap sets the context for OpenAI’s Finances experience in ChatGPT. The AI giant is piloting Finances for ChatGPT Pro users in the US to study real-world use and improve the service through feedback.

Users can connect eligible bank, card and investment accounts so the model can analyse balances, transactions, investments and liabilities alongside stated goals and priorities.

OpenAI says that more than 200 million people come to ChatGPT every month for budgeting, investment questions, scenario comparisons and goal planning.

With account data, ChatGPT-5.5 can highlight patterns, explain trade-offs and support financial literacy with personalised context.

OpenAI stresses that ChatGPT is not a replacement for financial advice, positioning Finances as an informational tool.

Connecting accounts in ChatGPT

Linking takes a few minutes through the Finances sidebar inside ChatGPT. Users can also type @Finances, connect my accounts to start the process.

Plaid, the financial data network, handles secure account connections, and OpenAI provides a step-by-step guide. More than 12,000 financial institutions in the US are supported at launch, expanding accessibility for a broad audience.

Zach Perret, CEO of Plaid, says: “AI is transforming how consumers interact with their finances. This is an important step towards bringing sophisticated, personalised financial advice to more people.

Intuit is expected to join soon as part of a trusted partner ecosystem. OpenAI gives examples powered by Intuit, such as moving from a credit card recommendation to understanding approval odds and submitting an application inside ChatGPT.

It also points to journeys from asking about the tax implications of a stock sale to receiving a tax estimate and booking time with a local tax expert, all in one place.

Privacy, security and user control

OpenAI emphasises that privacy controls are built in. ChatGPT cannot see full account numbers or make changes to accounts, but can access balances, transactions, investments and liabilities to tailor responses.

Users can disconnect accounts, delete saved financial memories and use temporary chats that do not allow financial connections.

Conversations involving finances follow the same model training settings that apply across ChatGPT, which users can change in their settings.

Multi-factor authentication can be enabled to add an extra layer of protection against unauthorised access.

Evaluating performance with finance experts

OpenAI says it is working with 50 finance professionals from leading institutions to assess quality.

The group grades ChatGPT on challenging personal finance tasks using an internal benchmark.

The company aims to improve the service holistically, focusing on clarity, accuracy and helpfulness.

The longer-term goal is to build enough trust that more people feel comfortable acting on AI-informed insights while remaining in control.