An Empirical Study on the Use of Generative AI for Financial Decision-Making Among Corporate Employees in Bengaluru

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini are now a common source of financial guidance. People will act on this guidance only if they trust it. This study looks at what shapes that trust and whether it carries over into financial decisions. We surveyed 256 corporate employees in Bengaluru. Of these, 217 had already used a generative AI tool for a financial query, and they formed the analysis sample. We used multiple linear regression to test how perceived usefulness, perceived risk and perceived transparency relate to trust. We used PLS-SEM to study the link between trust and financial decision-making, and the moderating role of financial literacy. Perceived transparency (β = 0.453) and perceived usefulness (β = 0.275) both predicted trust. Together they explained 46.5% of its variance. Perceived risk did not. Trust was positively related to financial decisionmaking (β = 0.112, p = 0.022), but the effect was small. Financial literacy did not moderate this relationship (β = −0.026, p = 0.494). The results suggest that AI providers are more likely to earn trust by making their tools clearly useful and open about how answers are produced. Trying to reassure users about risk seems less effective.