Anthropic is introducing a new Personal Finance feature that allows the Claude chatbot to connect directly to users' bank and card accounts. The connection is facilitated through the Plaid bank bridging platform.
The feature allows users to ask the chatbot questions such as “where did my money go this month.” In response, the AI will generate an overview of spending categorized by types such as food, shopping, rent, and utilities. Users can also ask Claude about remaining bills before a payday, whether they can afford large purchases like holiday trips, and how much they could potentially save each month.
According to Anthropic, the AI's access is read-only. Because Plaid facilitates the connection, the chatbot does not see banking passwords, and banks do not have to manage unvetted AI bots crawling through accounts. The AI can see account names, account types, the last four digits of associated numbers, balances, credit limits, and up to two years of transaction history.
Anthropic states that Claude cannot move, manage, or invest money, and it “isn’t designed to give investment advice.” The company notes that the AI can explain financial terms and answer questions about balances and transactions if the user grants access to the data.
The Personal Finance feature is rolling out in beta this week for subscribers of Claude Pro, Max, and Ultra plans in the US. This follows a similar feature introduced by OpenAI for ChatGPT in May.
Anthropic described the tool as a first step in its press release, stating that for larger money decisions, people are best served by Claude working alongside licensed professionals and regulated firms. The company expressed an interest in hearing from banks, wealth managers, and financial services companies to help shape future developments.
