More people use chatbots for personal decisions, and researchers flag risks

In short: More people are using AI chatbots to help make personal decisions, and early research points to possible downsides.

What's going on

People are increasingly turning to AI chatbots for advice on everyday choices and bigger life decisions, like money, health, and relationships. The appeal is simple: it is fast, always available, and can feel less intimidating than talking to a person.

Researchers and recent surveys suggest there may be hidden costs. One concern is lost practice. If you regularly hand off choices to a chatbot, you may get less practice weighing options and living with uncertainty, like using a calculator for every small math problem and slowly forgetting how to do it yourself.

Another issue is confidence that is not always earned. In a 2026 survey commissioned by Evergreen.ai, 48.4% of respondents said they asked a chatbot about money in the past year. Among those users, 77.8% said they acted on the answer, and 28.7% did so without checking another source or a professional. In a separate survey, 40% of respondents said they had caught AI giving false or inaccurate information at least once.

Researchers also point to accountability. A chatbot can sound calm and supportive, but it does not share the consequences if the advice is wrong. Some investors also report discomfort with chatbots taking financial actions for them, and distrust chatbot financial advice because it can miss key personal details.

What to watch

The evidence is still emerging, so these are risks, not proof that chatbots inevitably harm decision-making. A practical safeguard is to treat AI like a starting point, verify important claims, and keep the final call with the person affected, especially for high-stakes choices.

Source: NYTimes