Disclaimer: This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Your personal circumstances are unique. Always seek advice from a FSPR-registered financial adviser before making financial decisions.
Short answer: ChatGPT can give you information about money; it cannot give you regulated financial advice under New Zealand law. That distinction sounds like a technicality, but it decides everything that matters when the answer is wrong: who owed you a duty of care, who you complain to, and whether anyone is accountable. This article — part of our AI vs financial adviser guide — explains where the legal line actually sits.
What Counts as "Regulated Financial Advice" in NZ
Under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, as amended by the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019 (FSLAA), a person gives financial advice when they make a recommendation or give an opinion about acquiring or disposing of (or holding) a financial advice product — things like KiwiSaver and other managed funds, insurance policies, and certain investment products — or about switching between funds within a scheme.
Since 15 March 2021, giving that kind of advice to retail clients in New Zealand is a licensed activity: it must be given by, or on behalf of, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FAP). A transitional period followed, and from 17 March 2023 the regime has been in full effect — every provider needs a full FMA licence.
Crucially, the regime distinguishes regulated financial advice from general information. Explaining what a growth fund is, or how the first-home withdrawal rules work in general terms, is information. Telling you which fund to move your KiwiSaver into is advice.
Where ChatGPT Sits
OpenAI is not a licensed Financial Advice Provider in New Zealand, and neither are the operators of other general-purpose chatbots. Their terms of use frame the products as information tools and disclaim professional advice. In practice, three things follow:
1. The output is information, not advice — however personal it sounds
A chatbot will happily produce an answer to "should I switch my KiwiSaver to a growth fund?" that reads like personalised advice. Legally, nobody has advised you. No licensed person made a recommendation, so none of the protections that attach to regulated advice exist.
2. None of the adviser duties apply
A licensed adviser must comply with the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services — nine standards covering ethical behaviour, conduct, client care, competence and knowledge. They carry statutory duties to exercise care, diligence and skill, to give priority to the client's interests when conflicts arise, and to disclose fees, commissions and their complaints process. A chatbot operator owes you none of this.
3. There is no recourse
Every FSPR-registered adviser serving retail clients must belong to an approved dispute resolution scheme — such as Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL) or the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman (IFSO) Scheme — which is free for consumers. If a chatbot's confident-but-wrong answer costs you money, there is no scheme, no FMA complaint pathway against a licensee, and realistically no remedy.
Who Can Legally Give You Financial Advice in NZ
Under the current regime, regulated financial advice to retail clients reaches you through a small number of channels, all anchored to a FAP licence: a licensed Financial Advice Provider itself; an individual financial adviser registered on the FSPR and giving advice on behalf of a FAP; a nominated representative of a FAP (common in banks and insurers, where the FAP carries the compliance responsibility); or a FAP's licensed digital advice tool. Whichever channel you use, the chain ends at a licensee the FMA supervises — that is the whole design of the regime, and it is exactly the link that is missing when a general chatbot answers your question. The FMA's consumer guidance on getting financial advice also warns consumers to check who they are dealing with before acting — advice that applies doubly online, where unlicensed operators and outright scams imitate the language of legitimate advice.
"But Robo-Advice Is Legal — Isn't That AI?"
Yes, and the difference is the licence, not the technology. New Zealand has allowed personalised digital advice since the FMA's 2018 robo-advice exemption, and since 2021 digital advice services simply operate under FAP licences like everyone else. A licensed robo-adviser's algorithm is a regulated advice channel: the provider is on the FSPR, bound by the Code, and belongs to a dispute scheme. ChatGPT is none of those things. Full background in our robo-advice NZ guide.
Does That Make Using ChatGPT for Money Questions Illegal?
No. There is nothing unlawful about you asking an AI questions about money — the licensing regime regulates the giving of advice as a service to retail clients, not your private research. The practical issues are different:
- You carry all the risk. Stale figures and invented NZ specifics are common — see the concrete failure modes.
- The output isn't tailored to your actual situation, however tailored it sounds.
- If a human or business relays AI-generated recommendations to you as a service without a licence, that can engage the financial advice regime — the FMA regulates the conduct, whatever tool sits behind it.
Treat AI answers the way you'd treat a well-read friend's opinion: a useful starting point that you verify against primary sources — and never a substitute for advice from someone the law holds accountable.
If You Want Advice Someone Stands Behind
Check any adviser on the Financial Service Providers Register before engaging them — our guide to the FSPR shows how, and how to choose a financial adviser in NZ covers what to ask once you've shortlisted.
Talk to Someone the Law Holds Accountable
We connect New Zealanders with FSPR-registered financial advisers — with disclosure duties, professional standards and dispute resolution built in.