In the midst of warnings from several AI bosses about the dangers of confiding in AI chatbots, a recent development showcases the other side – the benefits of relying on a smart AI chatbot to sort your mess. A woman recently shared her account of how ChatGPT helped her solve her financial problems by sorting out unnecessary subscription bills. The utilisation of ChatGPT helped her save almost Rs 2,000 per month, which is substantial for a middle-class household.
The account, which was shared on Livemint, described a ‘subscription detox’ by ChatGPT, wherein the chatbot helped the person successfully identify and cancel forgotten auto-debits, which were costing them a significant amount of money each month. Deepika Chelani, who was the author, documented her journey, resulting in an immediate savings of Rs 2,028 and a permanent reduction of Rs 603 in her monthly expenses.
ChatGPT identified the money-draining sources
Chelani admitted she was “bleeding money” on “boring, forgettable auto-debits” for various apps and services she hadn’t used in months. However, she had no clue as to which apps and services were draining her finances and how she could go about dealing with them. Faced with this concerning financial drain, she turned to the AI chatbot for a solution. ChatGPT provided her with a four-step plan to regain control of her finances.
The process began with a simple query to ChatGPT, which provided a list of search phrases like “Your subscription has been renewed” and “Auto-debit confirmation.” Using these keywords, Chelani was able to scan her Gmail and UPI history to uncover a list of recurring charges for services such as Amazon Prime, Headspace, Gaana+, and Google One. She either canceled or downgraded these services as a result.
ChatGPT helped with the cancellation process
For subscriptions that were difficult to cancel, the author used ChatGPT to “write the emails,” which she then copied and sent to customer support teams. The support teams responded to her concerns within days and Chellani was able to successfully cancel the subscriptions.
The final step involved establishing a monthly ‘Subscription Audit’ ritual, a 10-minute habit suggested by the AI to prevent future financial waste.
Chelani highlighted the importance of this exercise, stating, “We obsess over how to earn more money. But sometimes, the smartest move is to stop wasting what we already have,” adding that the entire process was simplified by just needing “a chat window, 10 uninterrupted minutes, and the willingness to clean up.”