Experienced Users Entrust Gen AI With Financial Decisions

Consumers are moving beyond low-risk uses of generative AI, such as drafting emails and finding products, toward tasks requiring more context, judgment and sensitive information. PYMNTS Intelligence says experience creates a reinforcing cycle: users learn to write better prompts and refine answers, results improve, and trust grows. That shift matters for banks and FinTechs as AI evolves from an occasional feature into a routine tool for planning, research and personal financial management.

A PYMNTS Intelligence report published in July 2026 drew on a May survey of 2,226 U.S. adults. Personal users with at least one year of experience completed an average 11 AI-assisted tasks, versus 6.6 among newcomers. Some 39% of experienced users applied gen AI to finance, compared with 23% of newer users. The share calling AI essential for managing finances and banking reached 31% among experienced users, more than double the 13% recorded for newcomers.