# Which AI is best at picking stocks? What 20 live AI Portfolios on Autopilot can and can't tell you URL: https://start.joinautopilot.com/journal/which-ai-is-best-at-picking-stocks Updated: 2026-10-13 I'm Chris, one of the co-founders of Autopilot. Open it in the Autopilot app. https://link.joinautopilot.com/eXKr?c=which-ai-is-best-at-picking-stocks&af_sub1=intro Short answer: nobody can tell you yet which AI is best at picking stocks. Dr. Alejandro Lopez-Lira, a University of Florida finance professor whose research on ChatGPT and stock prices is published in the Journal of Financial Economics, co-wrote a study that ran the same AI models inside different trading setups in live markets. The setup drove more of the differences in outcomes than the model did. On Autopilot, the same models pick stocks inside different Pilots' systems. Twenty of those AI-picked Portfolios have live records, and each record starts the day the Portfolio was added. Let me explain. Everything here is as of October 13, 2026. 1) What the AI companies say about their own models Here's how some of the companies describe their own models: - OpenAI calls GPT-6 Astra "our most intelligent model" in its GPT-6.1 Sol announcement. - Anthropic says Claude Opus 5, released July 24, 2026, is "the new state-of-the-art" on coding and knowledge work evaluations. - Meta called Muse Spark, released April 8, 2026, "our most powerful model yet." To put that into context, those claims are measured on tests like coding, reasoning, and professional work. Picking stocks with real money for a year isn't one of the tests those announcements name. And those claims don't last long. OpenAI's GPT-5 page says GPT-5 "was our smartest, fastest, and most useful model" at its August 2025 launch. By October 2026, the same page points to GPT-6 as OpenAI's latest model. None of these companies is the Pilot on any Portfolio here. Anthropic isn't the Pilot on the Claude Portfolios, OpenAI isn't the Pilot on the ChatGPT ones, and the same goes for Google, xAI, DeepSeek, Meta, and Perplexity. Autopilot doesn't design these Portfolios either. Pilots do, and the AI is their tool. 2) What the research says For those unaware, Dr. Lopez-Lira's 2023 paper with Yuehua Tang tested whether GPT-4 could read stock news. After peer review, it's now in the Journal of Financial Economics. He also publishes AI Portfolios on Autopilot through Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs. Two of his later papers get at this question: - When Agents Trade, a 2025 live-market benchmark he co-wrote, ran four different trading agents on five models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, in live stock and crypto markets. The agents behaved very differently, from aggressive risk-taking to conservative. The model underneath contributed less to the differences in outcomes. It was accepted at The Web Conference 2026. Credit to him and his co-authors for running it live. - In another paper, AI traders in a simulated market followed their instructions even when it lost money. These models optimize for following instructions, not for profit. So "which model" is half the question. The other half is the system around it: what it picks from, what data it gets, how often it trades, and who set it up. 3) The same models, inside different systems A Pilot is the person or firm behind a Portfolio. In these Portfolios, the model does the picking. The Pilot publishes the Portfolio and implements its changes on Autopilot. Here's how the Pilots set up their systems: - Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs mostly uses a model as a scorer inside a fixed process. The GPT Portfolio scores every S&P 500 stock on fundamental data and eight macroeconomic data points and holds the top 15, rebalanced monthly. The DeepSeek Portfolio uses a similar grading system with DeepSeek calculating the scores. In the Claude Portfolio, Claude runs a multi-agent research setup driven by web search and decides when to trade. - Rallies runs what it calls the Arena. Each model gets a research toolkit that includes SEC filings, earnings data, hedge fund holdings, options flow, short interest, technical indicators, and news. It writes its own thesis for every trade, and manages its Portfolio however it sees fit. Its AI Hedge Fund runs GPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok together on every trade, and its AI Skeptic tries to reverse the frontier model's thinking. - Quiver Quantitative has OpenAI's models and Claude read its own market data every day to find investment ideas. - The Simple Side runs Perplexity Finance. Every week, Perplexity's finance chat model gets an update on its picks and decides whether to hold, buy, or sell. - Colin Kolano's Agentic AI Backbone has a team of AI agents score a 70-stock universe every day. - Manawa Capital's Stan.ai Druckenmiller has one frontier model set a monthly macro view and check the market against it daily. Manawa describes it as a strategy distilled from Stanley Druckenmiller's, and he isn't the Pilot. So ChatGPT is a scorer on the S&P 500 at Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs, a free agent with a research toolkit at Rallies, and a daily reader of market data at Quiver Quantitative. Claude has a Portfolio from the same three Pilots too, and at Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs it runs a multi-agent research setup instead of scoring the S&P 500. 4) The live records, side by side Here are the 20 AI-picked Portfolios on Autopilot that have a record, as of October 13, 2026, sorted by start date. Some went up and some went down. Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs also added a Gemini Portfolio on October 1, 2026. It doesn't hold anything yet, so it isn't in the table. Each record starts the day the Portfolio was added to Autopilot. These aren't backtests. 1Y only shows for Portfolios that have been live for a full year. These are different time periods, so don't line them up against each other. Portfolio | Pilot | Model | Added to Autopilot | 1Y | Since inception (start date) GPT Portfolio | Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs | GPT | April 20, 2023 | +34.69% | +100.62% (4/20/2023) AI Recession Portfolio | Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs | GPT-4 | August 18, 2023 | +8.61% | +6.74% (8/18/2023) AI World War III Portfolio | Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs | GPT and Claude Opus | October 30, 2023 | +0.73% | +197.13% (10/30/2023) DeepSeek Portfolio | Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs | DeepSeek | January 29, 2025 | +52.11% | +77.76% (1/29/2025) The Grok Portfolio | Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs | Grok | February 4, 2025 | +43.37% | +66.35% (2/4/2025) AI ❤️ BTC: LLM + Crypto | Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs | ChatGPT and Grok | March 13, 2025 | -30.69% | -31.84% (3/13/2025) Perplexity Finance | The Simple Side | Perplexity | August 10, 2025 | +52.20% | +46.94% (8/10/2025) Claude Portfolio | Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs | Claude | March 3, 2026 | Under 1 year | +25.32% (3/3/2026) AI Skeptic | Rallies | A frontier model | March 6, 2026 | Under 1 year | +14.36% (3/6/2026) ChatGPT | Rallies | GPT | March 30, 2026 | Under 1 year | +105.48% (3/30/2026) Claude | Rallies | Claude | March 30, 2026 | Under 1 year | +22.71% (3/30/2026) Grok | Rallies | Grok | March 30, 2026 | Under 1 year | +54.66% (3/30/2026) Gemini | Rallies | Gemini | March 30, 2026 | Under 1 year | +12.55% (3/30/2026) AI Hedge Fund | Rallies | GPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok | March 30, 2026 | Under 1 year | +6.36% (3/30/2026) Agentic AI Backbone | Colin Kolano | A team of AI agents | April 2, 2026 | Under 1 year | +41.82% (4/2/2026) ChatGPT - Quiver Enhanced | Quiver Quantitative | OpenAI's models | April 21, 2026 | Under 1 year | +0.42% (4/21/2026) Claude - Quiver Enhanced | Quiver Quantitative | Claude | April 21, 2026 | Under 1 year | +11.23% (4/21/2026) Stan.ai Druckenmiller | Manawa Capital | One frontier model | June 11, 2026 | Under 1 year | +5.23% (6/11/2026) Muse | Rallies | Muse | September 14, 2026 | Under 1 year | +1.74% (9/14/2026) Muse Portfolio | Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs | Muse | September 30, 2026 | Under 1 year | -1.35% (9/30/2026) 5) Why that table isn't a ranking Here's the problem. These are different time periods, so you can't line them up against each other. - Of the 20, 13 are under a year old. - A Portfolio that started in March 2026 and one that started in April 2023 lived through different markets. - Short records can look great or terrible for reasons that have nothing to do with the model. Even the same model doesn't give you a clean answer. Claude has three Portfolios here, from Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs, Rallies, and Quiver Quantitative. They started on different dates (March 3, March 30, and April 21, 2026) and are set up differently, so that isn't a clean test either. You can still watch the same model inside different systems, with a live record for each. I want to be honest with you. Two of these are down since they started. Some Pilots go up for years, some are flat for years, and some lose money. 6) So which AI is best? I don't know. Nobody does yet. The oldest record here, the GPT Portfolio's, goes back to April 20, 2023. Most of the rest started in 2026. And as OpenAI's own pages show, the newest model changes fast. So compare the system first, then check the record: 1. Fixed process or free agent. Does the model score a set list on a schedule, or decide what and when on its own? 2. The universe. The S&P 500, a 70-stock universe, crypto-related stocks, or anything a toolkit covers. 3. Turnover. A monthly rebalance feels very different from a model that trades whenever it wants. 4. The start date. Compare a number to its own start date. 5. The Pilot. Read the description and look at the holdings. How each model's Portfolios work is in ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, Gemini, and DeepSeek stock portfolios. The GPT Portfolio's story is in The ChatGPT stock portfolio. 7) AI stock pickers and hedge funds People also ask whether an AI stock picker beats a hedge fund. Nobody can say. Most live AI records are short, and hedge funds differ a lot from each other. They also ask whether regular investors can get into an AI hedge fund. The SEC says hedge funds "are generally limited to individuals and institutional investors who meet certain financial or sophistication criteria." Depending on how a fund is structured, you need to be an accredited investor or a qualified purchaser. Rallies' AI Hedge Fund is a Portfolio on Autopilot. The name is the Pilot's. To follow it, you need an individual or IRA brokerage account at a supported brokerage and at least $500 per Portfolio. 8) How following one works Here's the other way to do this. You don't have to pick the stocks. You pick who does, and it runs in the brokerage account you already have. It's three steps. You connect the brokerage account you already have. You pick a Portfolio. You allocate the money. You give Autopilot Advisers limited authority to place trades. It can't move or withdraw your money. On Premium Tier, when the Portfolio changes, we send the orders where your broker allows it, and your broker fills them. On Basic Tier, we alert you. The money stays in your account. Autopilot Advisers, LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser, CRD 331749. As of October 9, 2026, more than $2 billion has been invested through Autopilot, and we have over 250,000 users. What it costs is in What does Autopilot cost? Research the person and the Portfolio. Read the description, look at the holdings, and check the live record against its start date. TLDR: Nobody can name the best stock-picking AI yet. The companies that build these models describe them as "most intelligent," "state-of-the-art," or "most powerful," on tests like coding and professional work, and those claims keep changing. Research co-written by finance professor Dr. Alejandro Lopez-Lira found the trading setup drove more of the differences in outcomes than the model underneath. On Autopilot, 20 AI-picked Portfolios have live records, but they started on different dates, from April 2023 to September 2026, so they can't be ranked against each other. Compare the system, then check the live record and its start date. Frequently asked questions Which AI is best at picking stocks? Nobody can tell you yet. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta describe their models as "most intelligent," "state-of-the-art," or "most powerful," but on tests like coding and professional work, not stock picking. Research co-written by finance professor Dr. Alejandro Lopez-Lira found the trading setup drove more of the differences in outcomes than the model underneath. On Autopilot, 20 AI-picked Portfolios have live records, but they started on different dates, from April 20, 2023 to September 30, 2026, so they can't be lined up against each other. Which AI model is best at picking stocks? No model has a long enough live record to say. On Autopilot, the oldest AI-picked Portfolio, Dr. Lira's GPT Portfolio, started April 20, 2023, and 13 of the 20 with records are under a year old as of October 13, 2026. The same model also works differently in different systems: ChatGPT and Claude each run in Portfolios from Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs, Rallies, and Quiver Quantitative. Compare how the model is used, then its record and start date. Is an AI stock picker better than a hedge fund? Nobody can say. Most live AI stock-picking records are short: of the 20 AI-picked Portfolios with records on Autopilot, 13 are under a year old as of October 13, 2026. Hedge funds differ a lot from each other too, and the SEC says they're generally limited to investors who meet certain financial or sophistication criteria. AI-picked Portfolios on Autopilot can be followed in your own brokerage account with a $500 minimum per Portfolio. Is there an AI hedge fund for regular investors? Hedge funds generally require you to be an accredited investor or a qualified purchaser, according to the SEC. What regular investors can do is follow an AI-picked Portfolio. On Autopilot, Rallies' AI Hedge Fund is a Portfolio, despite the name, and it runs GPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok together on every trade. You follow it in your own brokerage account with a $500 minimum. It started March 30, 2026, so its record is under a year old. https://link.joinautopilot.com/eXKr?c=which-ai-is-best-at-picking-stocks&af_sub1=body Can I follow DeepSeek's stock picks? Yes. Dr. Lira's DeepSeek Portfolio has been on Autopilot since January 29, 2025. It uses a grading system similar to Dr. Lira's GPT Portfolio, with DeepSeek calculating the scores, and it's rebalanced monthly. As of October 13, 2026, it's the only Portfolio on Autopilot with DeepSeek in the name. You follow it in the brokerage account you already have, and DeepSeek isn't the Pilot on it. Is there an AI-managed portfolio for retail investors? Yes. On Autopilot, you can follow Portfolios where an AI model picks the stocks, in the brokerage account you already have, with a $500 minimum per Portfolio. Pilots like Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs, Rallies, Quiver Quantitative, and The Simple Side build them with ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, Gemini, DeepSeek, Muse, and Perplexity. The model picks, the Pilot implements the changes, and on Premium Tier Autopilot Advisers sends the orders to your broker. Open it in the Autopilot app. https://link.joinautopilot.com/eXKr?c=which-ai-is-best-at-picking-stocks&af_sub1=end "Autopilot" refers to Autopilot Holdings Corp and Autopilot Advisers, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. The GPT Portfolio strategy (1Y +34.69%; since incep. (04/20/2023) +100.62%), the AI Recession Portfolio strategy (1Y +8.61%; since incep. (08/18/2023) +6.74%), the AI World War III Portfolio strategy (1Y +0.73%; since incep. (10/30/2023) +197.13%), the DeepSeek Portfolio strategy (1Y +52.11%; since incep. (01/29/2025) +77.76%), The Grok Portfolio strategy (1Y +43.37%; since incep. (02/04/2025) +66.35%), the AI ❤️ BTC: LLM + Crypto strategy (1Y -30.69%; since incep. (03/13/2025) -31.84%), the Claude Portfolio strategy (since incep. (03/03/2026) +25.32%), the Muse Portfolio strategy (since incep. (09/30/2026) -1.35%), and the Gemini strategy are managed by Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs, an independent Third-Party Pilot. The Perplexity Finance strategy (1Y +52.20%; since incep. (08/10/2025) +46.94%) is managed by The Simple Side, an independent Third-Party Pilot. The AI Skeptic strategy (since incep. (03/06/2026) +14.36%), the ChatGPT strategy (since incep. (03/30/2026) +105.48%), the Claude strategy (since incep. (03/30/2026) +22.71%), the Grok strategy (since incep. (03/30/2026) +54.66%), the Gemini strategy (since incep. (03/30/2026) +12.55%), the AI Hedge Fund strategy (since incep. (03/30/2026) +6.36%), and the Muse strategy (since incep. (09/14/2026) +1.74%) are managed by Rallies, an independent Third-Party Pilot. The Agentic AI Backbone strategy (since incep. (04/02/2026) +41.82%) is managed by Colin Kolano, an independent Third-Party Pilot. The ChatGPT - Quiver Enhanced strategy (since incep. (04/21/2026) +0.42%) and the Claude - Quiver Enhanced strategy (since incep. (04/21/2026) +11.23%) are managed by Quiver Quantitative, an independent Third-Party Pilot. The Stan.ai Druckenmiller strategy (since incep. (06/11/2026) +5.23%) is managed by Manawa Capital, an independent Third-Party Pilot. Third-Party Pilots are unaffiliated with Autopilot and Autopilot does not manage, validate, or guarantee their portfolios. Performance as of 10/13/2026. Net of fees; representative client-account sample (all accounts if <10 clients). Not a recommendation. Past performance is no guarantee of future results; investing involves risk of loss. Figures current as of 10/13/26. View our Customer Relationship Summary and other important info at joinautopilot.com/disclaimer. Portfolios and pilots mentioned in this article: Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs: https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/pilots/dr-lira-s-ai-finance-labs-5 8 public portfolios. GPT Portfolio (Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs): https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/gpt-portfolio-63080 Returns as of October 19, 2026. Month +4.2%, 3 months +13.6%, YTD +27.4%, 1 year +35.0%, Since start +106.6%. DeepSeek Portfolio (Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs): https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/deepseek-portfolio-548932 Returns as of October 19, 2026. Month -3.5%, 3 months +7.7%, YTD +35.0%, 1 year +46.8%, Since start +74.3%. Claude Portfolio (Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs): https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/claude-portfolio-950048 Returns as of October 19, 2026. Month -2.5%, 3 months +8.2%, YTD n/a, 1 year n/a, Since start +23.2%. Rallies: https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/pilots/rallies-4108 5 public portfolios. AI Hedge Fund (Rallies): https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/ai-hedge-fund-989050 Returns as of October 19, 2026. Month +0.49%, 3 months +4.7%, YTD n/a, 1 year n/a, Since start +7.5%. Quiver Quantitative: https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/pilots/quiver-quantitative-2 8 public portfolios. The Simple Side: https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/pilots/the-simple-side-2943 2 public portfolios. Perplexity Finance (The Simple Side): https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/perplexity-finance-737030 Returns as of October 19, 2026. Month -0.77%, 3 months +0.22%, YTD +31.3%, 1 year +49.6%, Since start +48.1%. Colin Kolano: https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/pilots/colin-kolano-4215 1 public portfolio. Agentic AI Backbone (Colin Kolano): https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/agentic-ai-backbone-995938 Returns as of October 16, 2026. Month -1.7%, 3 months -2.3%, YTD n/a, 1 year n/a, Since start +29.6%. AI Recession Portfolio (Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs): https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/ai-recession-portfolio-94382 Returns as of October 19, 2026. Month +0.29%, 3 months +2.7%, YTD +7.7%, 1 year +8.0%, Since start +8.3%. AI World War III Portfolio (Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs): https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/ai-world-war-iii-portfolio-100040 Returns as of October 19, 2026. Month -8.6%, 3 months -2.7%, YTD +4.9%, 1 year +4.4%, Since start +199.0%. The Grok Portfolio (Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs): https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/the-grok-portfolio-568906 Returns as of October 19, 2026. Month -3.3%, 3 months +20.1%, YTD +25.1%, 1 year +32.9%, Since start +59.0%. AI ❤️ BTC: LLM + Crypto (Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs): https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/ai-btc-llm-crypto-633913 Returns as of October 19, 2026. Month -27.1%, 3 months -17.1%, YTD -12.0%, 1 year -39.3%, Since start -40.7%. ChatGPT - Quiver Enhanced (Quiver Quantitative): https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/chatgpt-quiver-enhanced-1023043 Returns as of October 19, 2026. Month -5.5%, 3 months -13.9%, YTD n/a, 1 year n/a, Since start -7.5%. Claude - Quiver Enhanced (Quiver Quantitative): https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/claude-quiver-enhanced-1023025 Returns as of October 19, 2026. Month -4.5%, 3 months +9.5%, YTD n/a, 1 year n/a, Since start +2.6%. Muse Portfolio (Dr. Lira's AI Finance Labs): https://start.joinautopilot.com/strategies/muse-portfolio-1417802 Returns as of October 16, 2026. Month n/a, 3 months n/a, YTD n/a, 1 year n/a, Since start -6.6%.