I’d Let ChatGPT Run My Bank Account’: Plaid CEO Predicts AI Will Manage Our Money Sooner Than We Think

At the Semafor World Economic Summit, Plaid CEO Zach Perret painted a bold picture — a world where artificial intelligence doesn’t just advise us, but actually moves our money, pays our bills, and invests our savings.

“I want my financial life to be fully automated,” he said, with the kind of conviction that makes you wonder whether your next paycheck might just talk back.

It’s not as wild as it sounds. After all, OpenAI recently linked ChatGPT to major consumer platforms, allowing users to book tables, order groceries, and even make retail purchases—all from one chat. Imagine that same power applied to your 401(k).

Perret’s vision fits neatly into the fintech wave that’s already reshaping finance.

Just this week, Citigroup revealed its AI tools free up over 100,000 developer hours weekly, and UBS appointed a new head of AI strategy to transform the bank’s operations.

Clearly, the financial world’s not dipping its toes in AI—it’s diving headfirst.

Still, the human factor lingers. Would you really let an algorithm decide which account gets your paycheck?

Perret might, but not everyone’s ready to surrender their wallet to the cloud. Maybe that’s fair—trusting AI with your love life is one thing, your mortgage quite another.

And yet, for all the skepticism, there’s no denying the tide.

As Reuters reports on AI’s ripple through global markets, automation isn’t just creeping into back offices; it’s shaping currencies and economies. Finance, it seems, is quietly becoming code.

I’ll be honest—I find it both thrilling and unnerving. The idea that one day I might wake up to find my bills paid, my portfolio balanced, and my spending optimized by a digital advisor?

That’s either freedom or a soft apocalypse. Depends who you ask.