Monarch uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make managing money easier, more intuitive, and more proactive. Every AI feature in Monarch is built to help you understand your finances faster. As we continue to leverage AI in new ways, we always do so with the privacy of your data top of mind.

Here, you can learn more about our approach and philosophy around its use, and how we protect your information.

How we use AI

We currently use a combination of third-party LLMs and our own in-house modeling in features within the app, including an AI assistant, AI-powered insights, your weekly recap, retail extension, receipt scanning, and enhanced categorization and transaction details. Read more about the AI assistant features here.

Your privacy and security are our top priority

Your privacy is central to how we design and leverage AI within Monarch. We are committed to always being transparent about how we’re utilizing this technology. Here's how we keep your information safe:

• Minimal data used: We only use the minimum data that’s strictly necessary for a given task or use case. This might include things like transaction descriptions or dates, but it does not include email, full financial account numbers, usernames, or passwords.
• No persistent storage: Your data is not retained or stored by third-party models after processing.
• No training: We do not allow third-party providers to use your data to train their models, nor do we use it for training internal models.
• Enterprise-grade protections: We have enterprise agreements with the LLM providers that explicitly state they may not store any data, nor are they allowed to use it for any training.

Wondering what this looks like behind the scenes? Here’s an example:

1. You click the AI Assistant and ask a question about spending.
2. We make a call to the LLM along the lines of: “Here is a set of data points that represents a person’s spending this month. What patterns or insights should they be aware of?”
3. The LLM returns a text-based analysis of the spending graph, and then erases the history of the call and any data.
4. Monarch displays the explanation.

To learn even more about how we value your privacy and security, see our Privacy Policy.

Why we use AI

We use AI to help make understanding your finances easier, faster, and more personalized, so you can make confident financial decisions without needing to sift through large amounts of data. Monarch’s AI features are designed to reduce complexity, surface meaningful insights, and give you clarity about what’s happening across your financial life. This includes:

• Providing clear explanations of spending, cash flow, and net worth changes based on your real financial activity.
• Surfacing important insights automatically so you don’t have to search for them.
• Summarizing your financial week in a simple, digestible format through Weekly Recap.
• Supporting natural, conversational guidance through the AI Assistant, which helps you understand your data and use Monarch’s features more effectively.
• Improving accuracy in your financial records through enhanced categorization and transaction enrichment.
• Offering more personalized context by using optional household details to tailor explanations and insights to your situation.

Can I control how AI is used?

Some of Monarch’s AI features today are seamlessly integrated into your experience—for example, improving transaction categorization.

Others, like the AI Assistant, will surface throughout the product. However, data will only be sent if you interact with them. Additionally, if you prefer not to use those AI features, you can opt out of having them show in Settings > Preferences (if you don't see this toggle yet, check back soon—we're in the process of adding it!). You can also remove the Weekly Recap widget from the dashboard by clicking Customize in the upper-right corner.

Monarch will continue to work normally if you choose not to utilize these features.

Frequently Asked Questions

What AI model is used?

We don’t rely on a single AI model. Instead, we use different models to ensure we’re using the ones that deliver the best accuracy, performance, and reliability for our customers. This includes models from leading AI providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.

Because this landscape evolves quickly, and because we continuously optimize behind the scenes, we don’t share specific model versions. This helps ensure we can provide the best experience and update over time as new, more effective options become available.

What type of data is sent to the AI models?

Only minimal data that is relevant to a specific task, and never your name, email, or login credentials. If you choose to provide household context information, it may be used to generate more personalized insights—but it is handled with the same strict privacy protections described above.

Are AI models trained on my personal data?

We do not allow third-party partners to train on your personal data, and we do not currently do any training on our own models. In the future, we may use aggregated and anonymized data to continue to improve our in-house models, and if we do this, we will provide an option to opt out.

Can I opt out of using AI? 

Some AI features are integral to how Monarch works and can’t be opted out of, such as AI-based transaction categorization. Others—like the assistant—are completely optional, and choosing not to use them won’t affect your Monarch experience. Additionally, if you prefer not to use those AI features, you can opt out of having them show in Settings > Preferences (if you don't see this toggle yet, check back soon—we're in the process of adding it!). You can also remove the Weekly Recap widget from the dashboard by clicking Customize in the upper-right corner.

We’ll continue to invest in using AI to improve accuracy, personalization, and planning tools over time. As we introduce new AI-powered features, we’ll always continue to be transparent about how they work and which ones are optional.

What features are currently powered by AI?

Features that leverage AI include the AI assistant, AI Insights, the weekly recap, auto-categorization of transactions, the "Explain this transaction" option on the transaction detail page, and other transaction details.

Why is the AI Assistant asking for my household details?

We use optional household context details—such as dependents, income, employment status, tax filing status, date of birth, and household relationships—to provide more accurate guidance, smarter insights, and better long-term planning. These details enable our AI features to tailor financial insights to your specific circumstances, while maintaining strict privacy protections. You can add or edit this information at any time in Settings > Members.

Will AI features always be accurate?

AI is a powerful tool, but it’s not perfect. It may occasionally misclassify data or return a result that needs further review. We’re continually improving the models we use to reduce errors and increase reliability. Alongside automated testing, we always perform human-in-the-loop QA and testing of model outputs, though we unfortunately cannot test or guarantee every possible scenario. You can give feedback on anything that looks wrong or inaccurate using the thumbs-up and thumbs-down buttons found on each chat.