Generative Artificial Intelligence in Personal Finance: Transforming Financial Decision-Making in the Digital Era

Abstract

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is transforming how individuals seek and receive financial information, manage personal finances and prepare for financial decisions. This study explores the key applications, opportunities, risks and future directions of GenAI in personal finance using a qualitative thematic analysis of secondary evidence published between 2020 and 2026. Academic and institutional sources were coded and synthesized across four analytical themes: applications; opportunities and benefits; challenges and ethical concerns; and emerging trends and future directions. Secondary empirical evidence is used descriptively rather than statistically pooled. The synthesis shows that GenAI is being used for investment, savings, budgeting, taxation, debt management, financial education and financial information search. The evidence highlights personalization, accessibility, efficiency and decision support as major opportunities, but also points to hallucinations, inaccurate information, privacy risks, cybersecurity threats, bias, limited explainability and over-reliance. A recent empirical study of Korean adults illustrates the emerging use of LLMs by consumers, but its findings are treated as country-specific evidence. The study's key contribution is a Responsible GenAI Adoption Framework that links GenAI capabilities and personal-finance applications with benefits, risks and safeguards. The framework suggests that responsible financial outcomes are achieved not through the use of technology capability alone, but through a combination of user literacy, verification, human oversight, privacy protection and governance.