Monarch exists to help you see your whole financial life clearly and make better decisions with it. AI helps us do that faster. It keeps your transactions organized, answers your questions and points out where you can save money. AI shows up in Monarch in three ways.
- Behind the scenes, always on. AI keeps your data clean. It categorizes your transactions, cleans up merchant names and spots recurring charges.
- When you ask. Chat with the AI Assistant to understand your spending, cash flow and net worth, or to find your way around Monarch. It can't move money, pay bills or make trades, and it always asks before changing anything in your account.
- Bringing savings and insights to you. AI looks for ways to save you money, like a better price on a subscription, brings you insights you'd otherwise miss.
We don't sell your financial data, and that doesn't change with AI.
This page explains why we use AI, how it works, and how we protect your information. You can read more about Monarch's AI features here.
How we use AI
To make sure that we can deliver the most intelligent product possible, we don't rely on a single AI model. We use a range of models, including ones from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, plus open-source models we run on Monarch's own infrastructure. We pick the best model for each job and switch as better ones come out, so we don't list specific versions.
Your privacy and security are our top priority
Your privacy is central to how we design AI in Monarch. Here's how we protect your information.
- Only what's needed. We only send AI models the data needed for each task, like the transactions behind your question.
- The same security as the rest of Monarch. Monarch is SOC 2 Type 2 certified. Your data is encrypted at rest and in transit, Monarch stores it in US-based data centers, and our systems are regularly tested for security weaknesses. Learn more in Privacy and Security.
- Your conversations aren’t stored outside of Monarch, and aren't used for training. The AI providers that power the AI Assistant are contractually barred from training on your conversations and we use their strongest available privacy settings to limit what they store.
- Monarch keeps your conversations so you can keep going. We want you to be able to have long-running conversations with your AI Assistant, so we save them by default. You can delete them anytime in Settings > Preferences. Deleting removes them from your account right away and from our internal systems within 30 days. Conversations you gave a thumbs down may be kept as test examples.
- People may review conversations to make the AI better. If you give a response a thumbs down, the whole conversation may be saved to test future versions.
- Bank connection partners. Plaid, MX and Finicity connect your accounts and get your data from your bank. Each has its own privacy policy for data it gets directly from your bank, and our agreements let some of them use de-identified data (which can't identify you) to improve their services.
Behind the scenes example
- You ask the AI Assistant about your spending this month.
- We send your question and the transactions it needs to an AI model.
- The model writes an answer. It can't train on your data and doesn't keep it.
- Monarch shows you the answer and saves the conversation so you can pick it up later.
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. If you prefer not to use the AI Assistant, Insights, or Weekly Recap, you can opt out of having them show in Settings > Preferences.
Frequently Asked Questions
When I use the AI Assistant, what data do you send to the AI models?
Only the data needed for the task, like the transactions behind your question. That can include names that appear in your transaction descriptions or notes.
Are AI models trained on my conversations with the Assistant?
The AI companies behind the AI Assistant can't use your conversations to train their models. Monarch may use conversations, with details that identify you removed, to train AI models that only Monarch can use.
Why does the AI Assistant ask for my household details?
Optional details like dependents, income, employment, tax filing status, date of birth and household relationships help it tailor answers to your situation. You can add or edit them anytime in Settings > Members.
Will AI always be accurate?
No. AI can make mistakes, and the AI Assistant isn't financial advice. We test its answers with automated checks and human review, but we can't catch every case. Check anything important before you act on it, and use the thumbs up and thumbs down buttons to tell us when something's wrong.
Does support chat use AI?
Yes. Monarch's support chat is run by Decagon, an AI support company.
Can I connect my own AI tool to Monarch?
Yes, you can connect your Monarch data to the tool of your choice through the Monarch MCP. You can find instructions for setting that up on our MCP Connector page.
Can I opt out of using AI?
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. If you prefer not to use the AI Assistant, Insights, or weekly recap, you can opt out of having them show in Settings > Preferences.