SoFi has launched SoFi Coach, an artificial intelligence-based financial guidance tool in its app. The service is initially available to SoFi Plus members.
The new chat-based product was developed with input from SoFi's financial planning team. It is designed to help users track spending, manage debt, budget, save and invest through a single in-app interface.
Users can ask questions about their finances and receive responses based on an analysis of their account activity and stated goals. To use the service more fully, members can connect accounts from more than 12,000 financial institutions through Relay, SoFi's financial management tool, giving the platform a broader view of their finances.
The tool can answer questions on recurring spending, debt repayment priorities and major life goals such as buying a home or planning for retirement. Members can also use the chat function to complete financial tasks in the app, including opening accounts, setting up recurring contributions, transferring money and paying down debt.
In early testing, SoFi said the tool prompted users to take what it described as tens of thousands of financial actions. Nearly 70% of engaged test members took steps to improve their finances, including reducing high-interest debt and moving money into higher-yield accounts.
Anthony Noto, Chief Executive Officer of SoFi, outlined the product's rationale in a statement announcing its launch.
"The formula for getting your money right is simple: spend less than you make and invest the rest. But too many people don't have the information to do that with confidence," Noto said.
"We built SoFi Coach to give more people access to smarter, AI-powered financial tools and the experience of our financial planning team, so our members can reduce debt, make their money work harder, and take the next step toward achieving their ambitions."
Advice Push
The launch adds to a growing number of financial services groups using generative AI-style interfaces to present budgeting, savings and debt information to retail customers in a more conversational format. For SoFi, it also extends its efforts to keep more financial activity within its app, where members can borrow, save, spend, and invest.
Member feedback and input from its planning team will continue to shape the product for SoFi's 14.7 million members. That figure highlights the scale of the audience SoFi could eventually expose to the service, even though the initial rollout is limited to its premium membership tier.
Brian Walsh, Head of Advice & Planning at SoFi, said the aim was to make routine financial guidance more widely available.
"Foundational financial support, like understanding what you can spend while still making progress toward your goals, shouldn't be a luxury," Walsh said.
"We're focused on turning moments of uncertainty into clear next steps so members can make smarter decisions, build healthier spending habits, and confidently plan for their future."
Wider Context
AI tools in consumer finance have attracted attention because they promise lower-cost support for customers who may not seek out a traditional financial adviser. At the same time, banks and fintech groups face scrutiny over how such systems present information, how accurate those responses are, and whether users clearly understand the difference between general guidance and regulated financial advice.
SoFi described SoFi Coach as a tool that helps members view and analyse financial data, receive personalised insights, learn about SoFi products, troubleshoot issues and take some actions in chat. It also said the responses are based on limited information from connected accounts and may contain inaccuracies.
The product sits alongside SoFi's broader digital financial services offering and its technology platform, Galileo, which supports 133 million global accounts for fintechs, financial institutions and brands.
Within the SoFi app, SoFi appears to be using SoFi Coach both as a member support feature and as a new interface for navigating existing financial products. That approach could give users a simpler route to routine money decisions while also deepening engagement with the company's own ecosystem.