OpenAI introduced a new feature within ChatGPT that allows users to connect their bank accounts and manage their financial situation directly from the chatbot. The tool, available in preview phase for Pro subscribers in the United States, was developed in collaboration with Plaid, a platform specialized in secure connections with financial entities, and allows linking accounts from over 12,000 institutions, including JPMorgan Chase, Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, Robinhood, American Express, and Capital One.
Once the accounts are connected, ChatGPT displays a panel with information on investment performance, recurring expenses, active subscriptions, and upcoming payments. The system allows queries in natural language: from detecting changes in consumption habits to planning long-term financial goals such as buying a home. OpenAI notes that its GPT-5.5 model specifically improves contextual reasoning, which is crucial for interpreting financial data accurately.
The launch comes a month after OpenAI acquired the team from the fintech startup Hiro, specialized in personal finance and backed by General Catalyst and Ribbit Capital. The company acknowledged that the experience of that team was relevant to accelerating the development of this proposal, although it did not detail the extent of their participation in the product.
Regarding privacy, users can remove bank connections from the app settings, and OpenAI assures that the synchronized data will be deleted from the system within 30 days after disconnecting the service. It is also possible to review and delete financial memories stored by the system.
Looking ahead to the coming months, OpenAI confirmed integrations with Intuit to expand tax analysis capabilities, including calculations on the tax impact of selling stocks and estimates on credit card approval probabilities. The user base that already uses ChatGPT for financial inquiries exceeds 200 million monthly, making this launch a natural extension of behaviors that already exist within the platform.
The move is part of a broader trend: companies like Anthropic and Perplexity have also reinforced their tools in high-context value sectors such as health and finance, signaling that vertical specialization is becoming the next competitive front among large language models.
From the perspective with which next+ tracks the evolution of artificial intelligence in regulated industries, this OpenAI launch raises a question that goes beyond functionality: what happens when the model with the most users in the world also becomes the place where those users manage their money. The combination of mass access, real-time financial data, and contextual reasoning ability creates a proposition that no traditional bank or personal finance app can replicate from its current position. For the fintech ecosystem, this is not just competition: it is a reconfiguration of the starting point from which users make their financial decisions.