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1. Identify what the service does—and who provides it
“AI financial advisor” is not a precise description of a service. A product may offer general financial education, personalized investment recommendations, ongoing portfolio management, or discretionary trading. A chat interface alone does not establish that the service is an investment adviser or tell you what it is authorized to do.
Find the legal name of the adviser or firm behind the app, and determine whether it only provides information or will recommend, manage, or trade investments. The SEC describes robo-advisers as registered investment advisers that use computer algorithms to provide advisory services online, often with limited human interaction. FINRA notes that digital-advice approaches vary and that U.S. robo-adviser platforms have largely used rules-based models. Those descriptions do not establish the capabilities or regulatory status of any particular AI product. SEC: Robo-Advisers; FINRA: Robo-Advisers
2. Check the firm and responsible professionals
If the service offers U.S. investment advice, search for the firm and relevant professionals in the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) database. Review registration or license status, disciplinary history, and the firm’s disclosures. Confirm that the legal entity in those records is the entity named in the app’s terms and disclosures.
Registration is a verification step, not SEC approval of the product, its algorithm, or its suitability for you. The SEC’s investor material explains how to use IAPD and what robo-advisers are. SEC: Robo-Advisers
3. Decide whether its advice, accounts, and costs fit you
Evaluate the service against your goals and constraints rather than its AI label. The SEC staff’s account-recommendation guidance says a recommendation should have a reasonable basis grounded in adequate information about the investor and the account. Ask what personal and financial information the system collects, whether it captures circumstances that matter to your decision, and what happens if linked information is missing or inaccurate. SEC staff: Account Recommendations
If you are comparing services, use the same criteria for each:
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- Service scope: What advice and account services are included? Is there ongoing monitoring, human support, or discretionary management?
- Cost and eligibility: What are the projected costs, account minimums, and other eligibility requirements? Consider the total cost of the service and its products, not just a prominently displayed fee.
- Account fit: Which account types can it work with, and what alternatives are available if your account or circumstances are not supported?
- Conflicts and compensation: How does the provider get paid, what conflicts may arise, and how are they identified and explained?
- Goals and limits: Do the information requested and recommendations account for your stated goals, preferences, and constraints? What limitations apply?
SEC staff says that Reg BI and the investment-adviser fiduciary standard require covered account recommendations to be in a retail investor’s best interest and prohibit placing the professional’s or firm’s interests ahead of the investor’s. The standards apply to covered professionals and conduct in context; do not assume every app or feature labeled AI is covered in the same way. SEC staff: Account Recommendations
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Inspect the permission screen and authorization terms before you connect anything. For covered access under CFPB Regulation § 1033.411, an authorization disclosure must identify the third party, the data provider, the requested service, the categories of data accessed, the expected collection duration, and how to revoke authorization. The regulation also requires express informed consent. Check the CFPB’s rule for its scope and requirements; do not assume it applies identically to every provider or situation. CFPB Regulation § 1033.411; CFPB Regulation § 1033.401
Before approving, make sure you can answer these questions from the disclosures:
- Which exact accounts will the service access?
- Which data categories are included—for example, balances, transactions, or identity information?
- How often will the data be refreshed, and for how long is collection expected to continue?
- Who besides the named provider may receive the data?
- What does disconnecting or revoking access stop, and what information may remain stored?
If a permission is unclear or broader than seems necessary for the service you want, pause and ask the provider what it collects and why.
5. Ask how the provider uses, protects, and reviews your data and AI
Read the privacy and security disclosures alongside the account authorization. Under CFPB Regulation § 1033.421, covered third parties are limited to collecting, using, and retaining covered data as reasonably necessary to provide the requested product or service. The CFPB identifies targeted advertising, cross-selling, and selling covered data as uses that are not reasonably necessary under that limitation. Ask how the provider applies its policies to your account and whether separate services or permissions are involved. The rule’s obligations depend on coverage and circumstances, so they are not a blanket guarantee about every app. CFPB Regulation § 1033.421
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The FTC says GLBA-covered financial institutions must explain their information-sharing practices and safeguard sensitive information. Its Safeguards Rule guidance describes information-security program requirements for covered institutions. These duties depend on the organization and activity involved, rather than applying identically to every financial app. FTC: Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act; FTC: Safeguards Rule
Ask the provider to explain, in plain language, how it checks recommendations and handles errors. Useful questions include:
- How does the service test recommendations for reliability and accuracy?
- How does it detect or handle incomplete, stale, or incorrect account data?
- How are changes to models monitored, and how can the service explain a recommendation?
- When will a complex question be routed to a human, and what can that person review or change?
- How are data quality, privacy, cybersecurity, and third-party vendors overseen?
FINRA identifies model risk management, data governance, customer privacy, cybersecurity, vendor management, and supervisory controls as considerations for securities firms using AI. Its 2024 notice says existing FINRA rules and securities laws continue to apply to member firms using generative AI or similar technology; it discusses governance, privacy, integrity, reliability, and model accuracy. These considerations can guide your questions, but they do not certify a particular service. FINRA Regulatory Notice 24-09; FINRA: Artificial Intelligence
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.6. Know how to revoke access and what happens next
Before linking, learn how to revoke authorization through the service and, if available, through your bank or account provider. For covered access, CFPB Regulation § 1033.421 requires a revocation method that is as easy to access and operate as the initial authorization, and describes stopping further collection after revocation. The regulation also limits continued use or retention of data already collected, subject to its conditions, including when retention remains reasonably necessary to provide the requested service. CFPB Regulation § 1033.421
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Ask the provider what its deletion and retention process actually does, whether any information remains after disconnection, and how it confirms that new collection has stopped. The CFPB’s materials describe revocation and its effects under the rule. CFPB Regulation § 1033.421; CFPB: Personal Financial Data Rights
When to pause instead of connecting
Do not approve the link until you understand the provider, the service’s authority, the cost and account fit, the data being accessed, and how to end access. Pause if the legal provider is hard to identify, the permission screen does not explain data categories or duration, the provider cannot explain its handling of errors and oversight, or the revocation and retention terms are unclear.
Firm registration, disciplinary records, fees, account permissions, retention policies, and AI capabilities can change. Verify the named service’s current disclosures and records before connecting. The cited U.S. sources do not establish that any particular AI financial adviser is safe, accurate, or suitable.
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