Can ChatGPT pick stocks? What the research found, and what a live Portfolio adds

I'm Chris, one of the co-founders of Autopilot. Can ChatGPT pick stocks? It can produce a list. Whether the list is any good is a different question, and there's research and a live record that speak to it.

Here's what each one says.

One thing first, because we're an SEC-registered investment adviser and I have to say it. Autopilot is the app. The actual investment advice comes from Autopilot Advisers, LLC. If you want the full legal version of anything in here, it's on our legal page.

1) What the research says

A widely covered study is by Alejandro Lopez-Lira and Yuehua Tang, published in the Journal of Financial Economics. Reading news headlines from after its training cutoff, GPT-4 captured the market's initial reaction and the drift that followed, more so for small stocks and bad news.

They also found the returns decline as more investors use models. More in Can ChatGPT forecast stock prices?.

2) What that doesn't cover

Reading a headline isn't picking a portfolio. A chat at home also has no fixed universe, no scoring rule, no schedule, and no record, and the answer changes when you ask again. That's in Asking ChatGPT for stock picks at home vs following an AI Portfolio.

3) Where GPT picks stocks for real

On Autopilot, several Pilots use OpenAI's models inside their own processes, in Portfolios real accounts follow.

The GPT Portfolio from Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs has been live on Autopilot since May 2023. Per its description, it scores every S&P 500 stock from fundamental and macro data, holds the top 15, and rebuilds monthly. Its lab's strategies are designed by Prof. Lopez-Lira, the same researcher.

Rallies' ChatGPT Portfolio uses GPT models with a broad research toolkit and no fixed schedule. And Quiver Quantitative's ChatGPT, Quiver Enhanced uses GPT models on Quiver's own data, daily. How the first two differ is in Two ChatGPT Portfolios on Autopilot.

4) So is it good at it

Nobody can answer that with a promise. What you can do is read each performance chart in the app, calculated from actual client accounts, including the worst stretch, and decide whether the process is one you'd hold through.

I want to be honest with you. Some Portfolios go up for years. Some are flat for years.

5) How following works

Pick a Portfolio, connect the brokerage you already use, and allocate money. You give Autopilot Advisers limited authority to send orders to the account you already have. When the Portfolio changes, we send them and your broker fills them. The money stays put.

A flat cash subscription, not a percentage of your balance. Per our Form CRS dated February 2026, Basic Tier has no Base Advisory and Licensing Fee, and Premium Tier is $29.99 to $199.99 a quarter or $99.99 to $699.99 a year. Pilot subscriptions are separate and add on for each Pilot you subscribe to. Because it's a flat dollar amount, it's a bigger share of a small account than a big one, so do the math at your balance.

TLDR: Research by Lopez-Lira and Tang found GPT-4 could read post-training headlines and capture the market's initial reaction, with the edge shrinking as adoption grows. On Autopilot, GPT picks stocks for real inside Pilots' processes, like Dr. Lira's GPT Portfolio, live since May 2023. Read the process and the record, not the hype.

Frequently asked questions

Can ChatGPT pick stocks?

It can produce picks, and research by Lopez-Lira and Tang found GPT-4 could read post-training headlines and capture the market's initial reaction, with the edge declining as more investors use models. On Autopilot, Pilots use GPT inside written processes, like Dr. Lira's GPT Portfolio, live since May 2023.

Is ChatGPT good at picking stocks?

No one can promise that it is. Research shows models can read news and capture the market's initial reaction, and that the effect shrinks with adoption. For picks you'd actually follow, compare live Portfolios built with GPT by their process and their performance charts in the app, including the worst stretch.

Has anyone used ChatGPT to pick stocks for real?

Yes. On Autopilot, the GPT Portfolio from Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs has been live since May 2023, followed by real accounts, with a monthly scoring process on S&P 500 stocks. Rallies and Quiver Quantitative also run Portfolios built with OpenAI's models.

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Since Autopilot Advisers is an SEC-registered investment adviser, we have to put disclaimers on stuff like this. They're below, and the full version is on our legal page.

Disclosures

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Research findings describe academic studies of historical or simulated data and are not predictions of any Portfolio's results. Biographical and publication details are from the University of Florida faculty directory, Lopez-Lira's CV and website, the publishers' and preprint servers' records, and the Pilot's bio in the app, as read on September 24, 2026. The University of Florida, the Wharton School, the journal, and the publisher are not affiliated with Autopilot and have not endorsed it. Autopilot does not use AI to construct Portfolios, advise clients, or select investments; model outputs are inputs to the Pilot's own process and are not predictions of future results. OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Google, Meta, and DeepSeek are not affiliated with Autopilot, do not manage these Portfolios, and have not endorsed them. Process descriptions come from each Portfolio's description in the app and the white papers linked from it, and may change. Listing is not an endorsement of a Pilot or strategy. Fee amounts are quoted from Form CRS dated February 2026 and may change.