Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify survey findings.
Since ChatGPT was made publicly available in November 2022, it has been deployed to predict how markets will react to statements from the Federal Reserve and how stocks could move based on headlines.
Yet an April 2023 Pollfish survey of 2,000 U.S. adults for The Motley Fool found that respondents are not entirely confident in ChatGPT’s stock recommendations. Baby boomers reported the most skepticism, and Americans across various income and age groups are not fully confident in the accuracy of ChatGPT’s stock advice or the trustworthiness of the information it provides.
The lack of confidence in ChatGPT’s investing prowess is important as financial institutions explore using ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) to guide investments and provide services to clients.
Keep reading for a full report on how some U.S. adults are using ChatGPT for stock advice and their views on the artificial intelligence (AI) tool when it comes to investing.
Key findings
Key findings
- The Motley Fool’s survey respondents, baby boomers in particular, have some skepticism about the accuracy of ChatGPT’s stock picks and the performance of its recommendations.
- Performance of ChatGPT’s stock picks is more important to respondents of The Motley Fool survey than other factors such as the cost of using the tool and the speed at which ChatGPT can make stock recommendations.
- Most respondents to The Motley Fool survey would consider using ChatGPT for stock picks in the future but would not solely rely on it for investing recommendations.
Which Americans have used ChatGPT for stock tips
47% of survey respondents have used ChatGPT for stock tips
Forty-seven percent of respondents to The Motley Fool survey reported having used ChatGPT for investing advice.
Other surveys done after The Motley Fool survey show a smaller fraction of the U.S. population has used ChatGPT. For example, a Pew survey from May 2023 found that 14% of U.S. adults at the time had used ChatGPT for entertainment, learning something new, or to help with work.
However, a separate survey from Bank of America found that 59% of respondents have used ChatGPT.
The percentage of respondents to The Motley Fool survey that has used ChatGPT, 47%, may be high. Still, it is likely a reflection of ChatGPT’s fast-growing user base and the excitement around the AI tool when the survey was run in April 2023.
It took ChatGPT five days to reach 1 million users and just two months to reach 100 million users, shattering previous records. For comparison, it took Instagram 2.5 months to reach 1 million downloads and more than two years to garner 100 million users.
In March 2023 alone, roughly 1.6 billion users visited ChatGPT, according to Similarweb, a web analytics company.
It’s difficult to find another tool in the finance space that has been adopted so quickly. But it’s also impossible to find another application in general that has been adopted at scale as quickly as ChatGPT.
“This scale of this percentage is surprising, and yet it confirms something many of us are witnessing,” said Asit Sharma, senior analyst and lead advisor at The Motley Fool. “The nature of search, and what we require from it, is changing in real time, and millions of Americans are eager to try out this new world hands-on.”
“The rush on the part of companies like Microsoft and Alphabet to provide front-end tools (and back-end capacity) for ChatGPT, Bard, and other large language models, similarly supports the survey’s finding,” he added.
“Interest is exploding in harnessing the capabilities of these models for use cases across innumerable industries. So while the sheer percentage of Americans test-driving ChatGPT for investing is eye-opening, it’s not hard to understand,” Sharma said.
The Motley Fool did not ask respondents how they used ChatGPT to get investing tips, how in-depth their interaction was with ChatGPT, or what actions they took from the query.
Millennials and Gen Z are most likely to have used ChatGPT for investing advice
Millennials and Gen Z respondents to The Motley Fool survey were most likely to report having used ChatGPT for investing advice. Fifty-three percent of millennials and 50% of Gen Z survey respondents used ChatGPT to find stock picks.
Older Americans have not been so quick to turn to ChatGPT for investing advice, based on The Motley Fool survey. Just 25% of baby boomer respondents say they’ve used ChatGPT to help find stocks to buy.
Gen X respondents lean closer to younger Americans; 46% say they have used ChatGPT for investment recommendations.
| Percent that have used ChatGPT for investment recommendations, including individual stocks | |
|---|---|
| Baby boomers | 25% |
| Gen X | 46% |
| Millennials | 53% |
| Gen Z | 50% |
| All respondents | 47% |
“A lifetime of investing in the U.S. markets has taught [baby boomers] to take new advances in investing with appropriate caution, and that it’s OK to let the kinks get worked out before jumping in,” Sharma noted.
77% of high-income respondents have used ChatGPT for stock recommendations
Interest in using ChatGPT for investment advice also varies by income, with high-income survey respondents being much more likely to have used the AI tool for stock picks than Americans who make less.
Seventy-seven percent of high-income survey respondents say they have used ChatGPT for investment recommendations, compared to 43% of middle-income Americans and just 23% of low-income Americans.
| Have you ever used ChatGPT for investment recommendations, including individual stocks? | |
|---|---|
| High income | 77% |
| Middle income | 43% |
| Lower income | 23% |
| Prefer not to say | 36% |
| All respondents | 47% |
One explanation for the discrepancy may be that wealthy Americans have more disposable income to invest, and, as a result, are investing more regularly than less-wealthy Americans. Consequently, they may have more of a need for investing tips and be more willing, or at least curious, about what ChatGPT can offer.
“High-income earners are often more financially secure and can more comfortably allocate risk capital to newer, if riskier, stock selection strategies and technologies like ChatGPT,” Sharma said.
55% of male respondents have used ChatGPT for investing picks versus 42% of women
Fifty-five percent of adult male respondents reported having used ChatGPT for investing recommendations, compared to 42% of female respondents.
There are a few possible explanations for the difference in interest among men and women based on research into women and investing.
Women have historically been less likely to invest than men, although that gap is shrinking, so the percentage of women looking for investing advice is probably smaller than that of men.
Women are more conservative investors than men, are less active investors, are less impulsive investors, and are overall more likely to remain calm during market volatility. Women investors have also recently outperformed men.
Those characteristics may make women more skeptical about a new and relatively unproven tool such as ChatGPT.
69% of respondents would consider using ChatGPT for stock picks in the future
Sixty-nine percent of respondents would consider using ChatGPT for investment advice in the future, well above the 47% who have already employed the chatbot for stock tips.
Interest in using ChatGPT for investing advice settles along similar lines as those who have already used it.
Baby boomers (48%) are by far the least likely to consider using ChatGPT for stock tips in the future.
Millennials are most interested in ChatGPT’s stock-picking potential, according to The Motley Fool survey, with 76% of survey respondents from that generation saying they’d consider using the tool in the future for investing recommendations. Seventy percent of Gen X and 64% of Gen Z respondents say they would consider using ChatGPT for investing advice down the road.
| Would you consider using ChatGPT for investment recommendations in the future? | |
|---|---|
| Baby boomers | 48% |
| Gen X | 70% |
| Millennials | 76% |
| Gen Z | 64% |
| All respondents | 69% |
There is a more significant interest gap in using ChatGPT for investment advice in the future when breaking respondents down by income.
Eighty-five percent of high-income respondents say they would consider using ChatGPT for stock tips in the future, compared to 66% of middle-income and 56% of low-income U.S. adults.
| Would you consider using ChatGPT for investment recommendations in the future? | |
|---|---|
| High income | 85% |
| Middle income | 66% |
| Lower income | 56% |
| Prefer not to say | 62% |
| All respondents | 69% |
Most survey respondents would not rely only on ChatGPT for investing recommendations
Despite significant interest in ChatGPT’s stock-picking potential, 55% of respondents to The Motley Fool survey say they would not be comfortable solely relying on it for stock advice.
Baby boomers are the least comfortable abandoning human advice when it comes to their investments -- only 27% would be OK with ChatGPT being their sole source of investing advice.
Millennials, on the other hand, are the most open to the idea of only relying on ChatGPT for investing advice. Fifty-two percent of millennial respondents say they would be comfortable with getting investment advice just from ChatGPT.
Gen Z and Gen X are also relatively warm to the idea of ChatGPT being their only source of investment advice, with 47% and 42% of respondents from those generations, respectively, saying they are comfortable with the idea.
| Would you be comfortable relying solely on ChatGPT for investing recommendations? | |
|---|---|
| Baby boomers | 27% |
| Gen X | 42% |
| Millennials | 52% |
| Gen Z | 47% |
| All respondents | 45% |
In line with high-income Americans’ interest in ChatGPT, 64% of respondents said they would be OK with ChatGPT being their only source of investing advice. Meanwhile, just 42% of middle-income and 30% of low-income Americans would be comfortable with exclusively getting stock tips from ChatGPT.
| Would you be comfortable relying solely on ChatGPT for investing recommendations? | |
|---|---|
| High income | 64% |
| Middle income | 42% |
| Lower income | 30% |
| Prefer not to say | 38% |
| All respondents | 45% |
Just as women are less likely than men to have used ChatGPT for stock picks, they are also less likely to rely on ChatGPT alone for investing recommendations. Forty-one percent of women surveyed, compared to 51% of men, say they are comfortable with ChatGPT being their exclusive source of investing recommendations.
| Would you be comfortable relying solely on ChatGPT for investing recommendations? | |
|---|---|
| Male | 51% |
| Female | 41% |
| Total | 45% |
Investors' confidence in ChatGPT
Americans are not fully confident in the accuracy and trustworthiness of ChatGPT stock picks
While there’s significant interest in ChatGPT’s potential to pick stocks, respondents to The Motley Fool survey aren’t entirely confident in its accuracy and the trustworthiness of the information on which it bases its picks.
Overall, survey respondents gave a score of 3.08 out of 5 for confidence in the accuracy and reliability of ChatGPT’s investing recommendations.
Baby boomers gave the lowest score, 2.47, while millennials and Gen Z gave the highest scores, 3.21 and 3.16, respectively. The average score from Gen X respondents was 3.09.
| How confident are you in the accuracy and trustworthiness of information on stock picks generated by ChatGPT, 1 being not confident and 5 being very confident | Average score | |
|---|---|---|
| Baby boomers | 2.47 | |
| Gen X | 3.09 | |
| Millennials | 3.21 | |
| Gen Z | 3.16 | |
| All respondents | 3.08 |
Those who have used ChatGPT for investing advice, however, are more satisfied with the results.
Asked to rate how satisfied they are with the stock picks provided by ChatGPT, respondents gave an average score of 3.77 out of 5.
Baby boomers who have used ChatGPT were less satisfied. They gave a satisfaction score of 3.3, compared to 3.86 from millennials, 3.79 from Gen X, and 3.68 from Gen Z.
| How satisfied are you with the stock recommendations provided by ChatGPT, 1 being not satisfied and 5 being very satisfied | Average score |
|---|---|
| Baby boomers | 3.30 |
| Gen X | 3.79 |
| Millennials | 3.86 |
| Gen Z | 3.68 |
| All respondents | 3.77 |
Men are slightly more confident than women in ChatGPT’s stock picking
Just as male respondents are more likely to have used ChatGPT for stock picking and more willing to have it be a sole stock advisor, they are also more confident in ChatGPT’s investment advice.
Asked to rate their confidence in ChatGPT’s accuracy and the trustworthiness of information on stock picks, men gave an average score of 3.29, while the average score from women was 2.93. The score among all respondents was 3.08.
| How confident are you in the accuracy and trustworthiness of information on stock picks generated by ChatGPT, 1 being not confident and 5 being very confident. | Average score |
|---|---|
| Men | 3.29 |
| Women | 2.93 |
| Total | 3.08 |
What investors want from ChatGPT
How ChatGPT stock picks perform is more important than speed or cost
Performance of ChatGPT’s stock picks is more important to respondents of The Motley Fool survey than how fast the tool can generate recommendations or how expensive it is to use to find investment recommendations.
The second most important factor for respondents considering using ChatGPT for stock picks is the ability to verify information the recommendation is based on, such as sources and data.
Cost is the third most important factor.
The least important factor is how fast recommendations can be generated.
| What factors are most important to you when considering using ChatGPT or a similar tool for finding stock recommendations? Please rate these factors on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being not important and 5 being extremely important. | Average score |
|---|---|
| Ability to understand the logic behind recommendations | 3.68 |
| Ability to verify information the recommendation is based on, such as sources and data | 3.79 |
| Cost | 3.71 |
| How quickly recommendations can be generated | 3.49 |
| Ability to ask questions and converse with ChatGPT about a recommendation | 3.70 |
| Performance and accuracy of recommendations/predictions | 3.86 |
That investors value performance above all else isn’t surprising to The Motley Fool’s Sharma.
“Though the promise of wealth has driven behaviors for millenia, in investing, decisions to obtain an edge in the markets inevitably anchor on performance,” he said. “A past track record of performance is often the key catalyst for an investor who ponies up for advice. That ChatGPT may refine its ability to spin out stock picks tantalizes many, but, at the end of the day, investors will benchmark to whether those ideas win or lose over the long term.”
Pros and cons of using ChatGPT as an investing advisor
ChatGPT and investing: Bottom line from Asit Sharma, TMF senior analyst and lead advisor
Asit Sharma, CPA
The public is pretty well informed! Americans grasp the potential of ChatGPT to bubble up stock recommendations that may outperform. And they exhibit optimism that large language models will become more refined, and that humans will tackle the problems currently associated with them (hallucination, inaccuracy, etc).
But the findings suggest that Americans have a basic understanding of how large language models work, and they’re skeptical. They understand that these are tools of inference, without the advanced reasoning capability that humans possess.
So, the public gets that ChatGPT can sift through enormous amounts of data and perhaps isolate trends in sentiment or industry movement, or isolate other forward-looking factors that could predict price movement. And this may have an immediate implication for very short-term or algorithmic trading.
But in the realm of investing, which is a longer-term game, Americans seem to doubt that the technology can (at present) weigh the innumerable factors, both qualitative and quantitative, that propel a successful long-term buy decision.
However, survey respondents allow that over time, models will be able to train themselves on the traits of stock outperformers. The gist: We wouldn’t rely solely on ChatGPT at present, and we’re skeptical of its trustworthiness and its success rate versus expert humans, but we’re more than willing to keep testing it as its stock picking acumen gets refined.
ChatGPT as an investing advisor: Risks and advantages
ChatGPT’s ability to help investors navigate the stock market is among the most hyped use cases for the chatbot.
Researchers at the Federal Reserve have shown that ChatGPT can interpret statements from the Fed as hawkish or dovish. A professor at the University of Florida has used ChatGPT to predict how a stock will move based on news headlines. This type of analysis is already done at financial institutions, but ChatGPT opens it up to the average retail investor with little training and no special application or dataset needed.
Beyond picking individual stocks and predicting market moves, ChatGPT can also help investors better understand investing concepts and parse earnings calls and statements.
Yet as promising as ChatGPT is, there are still risks in relying on it as an investment advisor.
First, AIs trained on large language models, such as ChatGPT, can sometimes “hallucinate,” that is, deliver inaccurate or outright make up data and other information yet sound confident in doing so. This can be particularly problematic when ChatGPT is tasked with numerical and data heavy requests, such as analyzing financial statements or stock performance.
Second, ChatGPT does not have a full understanding of events after September 2021, which can severely limit its ability to analyze a company’s performance or stock history.
Investors using ChatGPT for investment analysis and recommendations should always double check that the data and content used by ChatGPT are accurate.
Bottom line: ChatGPT has shown promise as a tool for investors to use to analyze headlines and parse earnings reports, but it’s not ready to replace your financial advisor.
Methodology
Methodology
The Motley Fool distributed an online survey via Pollfish to 2,000 U.S. adults on April 19, 2023. Respondents were 41% male and 59% female. Pollfish employs organic random device engagement sampling.
Sources
Sources
- Alejandro Lopez-Lira and Yuehua Tang (2023). “Can ChatGPT Forecast Stock Price Movements? Return Predictability and Large Language Models.”
- Anne Lundgaard Hansen and Sophia Kazinnik (2023). “Can ChatGPT Decipher Fedspeak?”
- Pew (2023). “A majority of Americans have heard of ChatGPT, but few have tried it themselves.”
- Reuters (2023). “ChatGPT sets record for fastest-growing user base - analyst note.”
- Similarweb (2023). “Chat.openai.com.”
- Yahoo Finance (2023). “59% of U.S. internet users are already on ChatGPT, BofA survey finds.”
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