How to get better money answers from AI: 8 rules and what to ask
23 June, 1970
AI can be a handy place to start with money questions, but it only knows what you tell it. After putting real questions to AI tools and asking experts to mark the answers, here's what to tell it, what to ask it and what to watch out for on pensions, investing, ISAs and Inheritance Tax.
In our Bots versus Brokers series, we put money questions asked by Boring Money readers to AI tools and asked experts to mark the answers. The same pattern came up again and again. When the AI was missing key facts, it filled the gaps with assumptions. Some answers sounded confident but used out-of-date figures. Others pushed nervous investors towards options that didn't suit them.
The good news is that most of this is fixable. Here's what to tell the AI, what to ask it, and what to watch out for.
8 golden rules for any money question
Whatever you're asking about, these apply:
- Give it the full picture. Your age, income, tax band, what you already hold, and your partner's position if relevant. The more it knows, the less it guesses.
- Say what the money is for and when you need it. Your timeframe changes the answer more than almost anything else.
- Separate your feelings from the facts. It's fine to say you're nervous. But tell the AI not to base your whole investment mix on nerves alone.
- Keep asking questions. Push for specifics, alternatives and the reasoning behind any suggestion.
- Make it check the numbers. Allowances, limits and rules change. Ask it to confirm the figures it uses are accurate and up to date.
- Be wary of overconfident language. Phrases like "zero risk", "safest" or "the absolute best move" are red flags. So are named rates and providers.
- Protect your data. Don't upload personal details to a free tool that isn't private or secure.
- Treat AI as a starting point. Use it to shape your questions, not to make the final decision.
What should you ask AI before taking money from your pension?
Taking money from your pension is one of the biggest financial decisions you'll make when planning for retirement, and the right answer depends heavily on your circumstances.
Tell the AI:
- Your age.
- Your timeframes for your investments and pension.
- When you need the money and what it's for.
- Relevant details about your spouse or partner, and your finances as a couple.
Ask it to:
- Be specific about UFPLS (taking lump sums where 25% is tax-free and the rest is taxed).
- Explain the option of phasing your tax-free cash only.
- Include the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) and explain how it could affect you.
- Avoid assumptions about your investment mix based on your nerves alone.
Click here to see how AI answered a real retirement planning question and what financial experts thought.
What should you tell AI about your workplace pension?
A little homework before you ask makes a big difference here.
Find out first:
- Whether your scheme uses salary sacrifice.
- Your scheme's annual charges and fund range.
- Whether your employer matches contributions above 7%.
Tell the AI:
- Your salary and whether you're a basic or higher-rate taxpayer.
- How much you and your employer pay in.
- Roughly how much is already in your pension.
Ask it to:
- Explain how tax relief works on each option.
- Cover alternatives to a pension.
- Check figures such as the minimum pension access age (55 now, rising to 57 from April 2028) are accurate and up to date.
Watch out for: answers that push wider investment choice if you're a nervous investor who won't change your investments.
Before you start, decide what matters more to you: simplicity or choice. As Alistair McQueen, Head of Savings and Retirement at Aviva points out, your answer could point you to your next steps.
Find out what Alistair McQueen made of AI’s answer
How can AI help you diversify your investments?
AI tools tend to jump straight to which markets to buy. The bigger question is often your overall mix.
Tell the AI:
- What the money is for.
- How long you can leave it invested.
- How much you could afford to lose.
- What else you already hold.
Ask it to:
- Look at your overall mix of shares, bonds, cash and alternatives, not just which stock markets to buy. Michael Winson, Senior Investment Director at Rathbones says a nervous investor may have a bigger asset allocation question to answer.
- Treat the UK and Europe separately.
- Explain how different regions overlap.
- Explain why a market looks cheap. As Tom Stevenson, Investment Director, Personal Investing at Fidelity points out, it may be cheap for a reason.
- Show you how to manage currency risk, not just whether it exists.
- Say whether sticking with the US and buying when prices fall is also a valid option.
Watch out for: confident language like "the absolute best move", "safest" or "perfectly balanced".
Can AI help you invest? See how it answered our investment question.
What should you ask AI about Inheritance Tax (IHT)?
IHT rules are detailed and changing, so this is where out-of-date or half-explained answers can cost the most.
Tell the AI:
- Your age and whether you're married.
- Whether you own your home and plan to leave it to your children.
- Roughly what your estate is worth.
- Why you want to move into cash, if that's what you're considering.
Ask it to:
- Explain the gifting rules in full, including how the annual exemption and small gift exemption interact, carry-forward, wedding gifts and when taper relief actually applies.
- Explain what counts as "surplus income" for gifting.
- Cover the different types of trusts and life cover.
- Say whether you should review your will, and whether spending more of your money during your lifetime is an option.
- Check figures such as the nil-rate bands and the April 2027 pension changes are accurate and up to date.
Watch out for: suggestions of Business Relief or AIM shares if you're a cautious investor.
Find out what financial advisers made of AI’s IHT answers.
What should you ask AI about ISAs and cash savings?
The key is making sure the AI knows the difference between money you need soon and money you can leave for years.
Tell the AI:
- Whether your money is in a bank account, a Stocks & Shares ISA or another investment account.
- Your timeframe and what the money is for.
Ask it to:
- Treat short-term cash separately from long-term investments.
- Explain Term used to describe how quickly the prices of goods and services is rising over a period of time. In periods of high inflation, prices are increasing rapidly, whereas low inflation means prices are increasing by only a small amount. risk.
- Check figures such as the FSCS limit and ISA rules are accurate and up to date.
Watch out for: answers that say "zero risk" or name specific rates and providers.
How well did AI answer questions about ISAs?
The bottom line
AI can be a brilliant way to get your head around a money topic and work out what to ask. But it only knows what you tell it, and it doesn't always know when the rules have changed.
Give it the full picture, push it for detail, check the numbers, and use what it tells you as a starting point. For bigger decisions, especially around retirement income and Inheritance Tax, it's worth checking your thinking with a regulated financial adviser or the free government-backed guidance service, MoneyHelper.
