CONSUMERS could lose cash following unclear, inaccurate and risky advice from artificial intelligence tools.
Which? tested ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Gemini AI Overview, Microsoft‘s Copilot, Meta AI and Perplexity to see how well they could answer consumer questions.
Researchers put 40 questions to each tool and the answers were assessed to establish if they were accurate, relevant, clear, useful and ethically responsible.
Meta AI got the worst score in the tests with just 55 per cent overall while Perplexity got the highest with 71 per cent.
The consumer group also surveyed 4,000 adults about their use of AI.
One in six said they rely on it for financial tips — but Which? found many of the responses it received to money queries from AI were inaccurate.
When Which? asked a deliberately inaccurate question about the Isa allowance, ChatGPT and Copilot gave incorrect advice which could see them breach HMRC rules.
Meanwhile, when asked which tax code a worker should be on and how to claim a refund, ChatGPT and Perplexity both linked the user to premium tax refund companies, notorious for charging high fees and adding extra charges.
Andrew Laughlin of Which? said: “When using AI, make sure to define your questions.”
SAFE SAVINGS SCHEME
SAVERS will have greater confidence that their money is protected if their bank, building society or credit union fails from next month.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is raising its deposit protection limit to £120,000 from December 1.
Currently, up to £85,000 of savings are protected if UK-based lenders go bust.
Protections for those who have a high balance for six months or less will also rise to £1.4million.
That could help people whose balance may have risen temporarily after selling a home.
13-YEAR HOME LOW
ASKING prices for homes have fallen to a 13-year low for November due to uncertainty ahead of this month’s Budget.
Average new seller prices fell by £6,589, nearly 2 per cent, says Rightmove.
A typical home is now on the market for £364,833, it said.
Potential movers are being put off by fear of how the Budget will impact their finances.
More than a third of homes for sale have had to reduce their price.
CAR COVER DIP
THE average cost of car insurance has fallen to the lowest level in two years.
Between July and September the cost of an average policy was £400, according to go.compare.
This was £14 cheaper than the previous quarter and the lowest price since 2023.
Motorists in Wales had the cheapest car insurance quotes in the UK, with an annual policy costing £324 a year.
