A Beginner’s Guide to Answering Financial Questions with AI

Making financial decisions can be both overwhelming and empowering. From budgeting to planning for retirement, it’s not easy to answer your money questions solo, and sometimes, you need some expertise. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) can step in.

Over the past few years, AI has taken center stage, revolutionizing the way we work, go about our daily lives, and even manage our finances. AI can provide real-time guidance, democratizing access to financial planning and wealth management cost-effectively. That’s one of the many reasons we built Sidekick, our AI-powered planner.

Today, we’re going to dive into how AI can help answer your money questions and empower you to take action with confidence and ease.

The Benefits of Using AI

Traditionally, financial advising services have been both exclusive and costly. There’s typically a liquid threshold requirement, which boxes out a huge percentage of the population. AI can democratize access to financial guidance and provide instant answers, truly when we need them most.

In addition to democratizing access, AI provides real-time guidance—24/7. Whether it’s day or night, you can rely on AI to answer your biggest questions. You no longer have to book an in-person or Zoom meeting. You can get guidance in an instant.

Here are some ways AI can help:

• 24/7 Availability: AI, like our AI-powered planner, Sidekick, is always ready to assist you, day or night. Say goodbye to waiting for appointments or dealing with scheduling conflicts.
• Objective Recommendations: Our AI is built and regularly reviewed to avoid biases or conflicts of interest. Sidekick's recommendations are solely aimed at optimizing your finances, free from any ulterior motives.
• Vast Data Analysis: AI can rapidly analyze your financial data, market trends, and various strategies comprehensively. It identifies opportunities and trends that might be missed by human advisors.
• Personalization: AI tailors its advice to your unique financial situation, goals, and preferences. Whether you're saving for a home or planning for retirement, AI adapts to your individual needs.
• Always Up to Date: AI keeps you informed about the latest financial products, tax laws, and economic conditions, ensuring your financial plan remains optimized.

How to Use AI for Financial Guidance

Say hello to Sidekick: your AI-powered planner. Sidekick is included in your Origin subscription and provides real-time, personalized guidance. Why use Sidekick? You can gain clarity on your unique financial situation and get answers to your money questions.

How does it work? Sidekick leverages generative AI models along with Origin's financial expertise to deliver personalized financial guidance.

After connecting your financial accounts, Sidekick reviews your spending patterns, investments, and full financial profile to gain an understanding of your unique situation. It then provides insightful recommendations tailored specifically to you regarding your budget, saving strategy, investment optimization, and more.

Sidekick can also generate data visualizations based on your connected account information to visually show you how your spending aligns with your goals and budget over time.

By leveraging the conversational abilities of a human advisor and the number-crunching power of AI, Sidekick can offer you unbiased, optimized, round-the-clock guidance.

How can you get started with Sidekick?

Sidekick is included in an Origin membership. We offer a 30-day free preview (no credit card required). When you open Sidekick, simply ask any money question or select from our popular prompts. It’s that easy.

Questions to Ask Sidekick

Sometimes, you don't know what questions to ask or where to start when you’re using AI. So, here are some ideas to get you started:

• Spending: How can I create a monthly budget? Can I afford to buy a new car right now? How much am I spending on drinks and dining?
• Cash flow: How has my cash flow been trending? Am I cash flow positive? Explain my cash flow.
• Net worth: What’s my net worth? Breakdown my cash by account. Can you summarize my loans? Summarize my assets, please.
• Investments: How are my investments doing? What is my tech stock exposure? How did my investments perform last 3 months? How are my investments doing against benchmarks?
• Debt Management: How can I pay off my student loans faster? Should I consolidate my debt?
• Retirement Planning: Can I max out both a Roth IRA and a Roth 401k? How much can I contribute to a Roth IRA?
• Tax Optimization: What tax-saving strategies should I consider?

What Kinds of Responses Can You Get?

AI can provide comprehensive responses to your financial questions. It offers:

• Personalized Recommendations: Tailored guidance based on your financial situation and goals.
• Data-Driven Insights: Analysis of your accounts, historical data, market factors, and financial strategies. Heads up — The more accounts you connect to Origin, the more Sidekick can help.
• Real-Time Updates: Always up-to-date information on financial products, tax laws, interest rates, and more.

Why Should You Ask These Questions?

Asking these questions and seeking answers through Sidekick can help you:

• Make smarter money decisions: Using Sidekick, you can gain expert guidance that’s in line with your financial goals.
• Maximize Your Savings: Identify opportunities for saving money and growing your wealth.
• Secure Your Future: Plan for retirement and ensure financial security for yourself and your family.

Is AI accurate and secure?

At Origin, we prioritize the security and privacy of your financial information. Our commitment includes:

• Data Security: Utilizing bank-level 256-bit AES encryption and secure data transmission via HTTPS protocols.
• 24/7 Monitoring: Our systems are monitored round-the-clock, and we partner with industry-leading data hosting and security providers.
• Privacy-Centric AI: Sidekick uses your data solely for analysis and personalized recommendations, ensuring your information remains private and secure.

How to Make the Most of AI

Utilizing AI effectively for your financial journey requires a strategic approach. Here are a few ways to maximize your interactions with Sidekick:

• Connect accounts: Make sure you have all of your accounts linked to Origin. This includes everything from bank accounts and credit cards to loans and retirement plans. This step helps provide Sidekick with a comprehensive view of your financial landscape, enabling it to generate more accurate and insightful recommendations.
• Be open and honest: Transparency is the key to receiving personalized recommendations. Share your financial goals, income, expenses, debts, and unique circumstances with Sidekick. Remember: your data is secure. The more Sidekick knows about your financial situation, the better it can tailor its guidance to meet your specific needs.
• Engage regularly: AI isn't a one-time solution; it's a dynamic resource that adapts to your evolving financial situation. Engage with Sidekick regularly, whether through chats, updates, or reviews. Frequent check-ins ensure that Sidekick's guidance remains relevant as your financial life changes, and our regular LLM updates help you get better, clearer answers.
• Implement recommendations: The true power of AI lies in action. Act on the guidance offered by Sidekick to optimize your finances effectively. Whether it involves adjusting your investment portfolio, increasing your savings rate, or refinancing high-interest debt, taking action transforms AI insights into tangible financial progress.
• Ask questions: If there's any aspect of your financial plan you don't fully understand or if you need assistance making a decision, don't hesitate to ask Sidekick for clarification or additional information. If you find that the responses you’re getting from Sidekick aren’t quite right, try asking again — sometimes, re-prompting can help Sidekick do better.
• Stay organized: Take advantage of the tools and resources provided by Sidekick, including the Origin app—offered on desktop and mobile. Origin helps you stay organized by allowing you to track your financial plan, monitor your spending, and keep important documents in one accessible location.

Get the Sidekick your money deserves

AI is another tool worth adding to your financial planning toolbelt. With Sidekick, you can gain personalized guidance when you need it most. Gain clarity on your financial situation and feel empowered to manage your money with confidence and ease.