How to Connect ChatGPT to Interactive Brokers
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
Interactive Brokers now runs its own official AI connector for Interactive Brokers accounts only. The other route is a connector that reaches Interactive Brokers through a regulated aggregator, which can hold several brokers in one connection, signing in at Interactive Brokers's own screen so no tool handles your password. ChatGPT's built-in Finances feature can also link many US brokerages through Plaid to read holdings, depending on what the institution shares, but it is US only and cannot place trades. ChatGPT accepts custom connectors in Developer Mode on a paid plan. You add the connector URL in settings, authorise once, and the tools appear inside the conversation. Once connected, ChatGPT is reading your account rather than recalling anything. Through Walnut, Interactive Brokers connects for reading only, so the assistant can analyse it and cannot trade it that way. Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser.
Asking ChatGPT how your Interactive Brokers portfolio is doing gets a generic answer unless you have linked accounts through its Finances feature, because otherwise it has no access to your positions. ChatGPT is the assistant most people already have open, which is why this is the most common version of the question. Connecting the account changes the conversation from general investing advice into a discussion of what you actually hold.
How the connection works
ChatGPT accepts custom connectors in Developer Mode on a paid plan. You add the connector URL in settings, authorise once, and the tools appear inside the conversation.
Behind it, a regulated aggregator holds the link to Interactive Brokers. You authenticate at Interactive Brokers's own screen, the aggregator receives scoped access, and the assistant reads through it. Your login is never handled by the assistant, and access is revocable from either end.
Interactive Brokers connects to Walnut for reading only. IBKR also runs its own official AI connector for Claude, ChatGPT and other clients, where the AI drafts orders and you submit them, for IBKR accounts only.
Interactive Brokers's own AI connector
Interactive Brokers has an official AI connector. It had certified Claude and ChatGPT connectors by June 2026 and opened them to any assistant built on the MCP standard on July 28, 2026. The AI drafts orders into an AI Instructions area and you submit them yourself; it does not execute on its own. It works with IBKR accounts only.
That makes it the direct route if Interactive Brokers is the only account you want an assistant to see. Walnut covers a different case: one connection across several brokers, including brokers with no connector of their own, read-only by default, with baskets of target weights on top.
ChatGPT Finances, the built-in option
Since mid-2026, ChatGPT has a Finances feature that links US accounts through Plaid, including many brokerages, depending on what each institution shares. It launched as a Pro preview on May 15, 2026, reached Plus on June 25, 2026, and has been rolling out to Free and Go since October 2, 2026. Once linked, it can show balances, net worth and a market update on equity holdings, including daily change, current value and position size.
It is read-only and US only. It cannot place trades, and some institutions share balances but not holdings. What Walnut adds is trades you approve at the brokers that support them, baskets with target weights and a suggested rebalance, each holding framed against the S&P 500, and the same connection inside Claude as well as ChatGPT.
What it can and cannot see
| Data | Available? |
|---|---|
| Positions and quantities | Yes, once connected. This is the base of any analysis |
| Average cost per position | Not through Walnut, which receives no cost basis from brokers, so returns are measured as price change over a period |
| Account balances | Yes |
| Placing an order | Not through Walnut, where Interactive Brokers is read-only. Interactive Brokers's own connector is a separate route |
| Your tax position and goals | No. Nothing knows this unless you say it |
| Accounts at other providers | Only if you connect those too |
The fourth row is the one that surprises people, and it is decided by the broker rather than by the assistant. Through Walnut, Interactive Brokers allows reading and not trading. Interactive Brokers' own connector lets an assistant draft orders that you then submit yourself, so the read-only limit applies to Walnut's connection, not to every AI tool.
Get a recommendation for your situation
Walnut is the AI that knows your portfolio: ask anything in plain English, research any fund, and get an honest second opinion. On the broker you already use, read-only, and you approve every trade. Walnut is not a registered investment adviser.
You may not need ChatGPT for this
Nearly every page on this subject assumes the assistant is fixed and the question is how to reach it. It is worth turning that around. What you want is to ask questions about your own portfolio and get answers based on what you actually hold, and the client you do that in is a preference.
Walnut connects Interactive Brokers and has its own built-in assistant, so the conversation works whether or not ChatGPT ever supports connectors. For people who would rather stay in the assistant they already use, Walnut also exposes an MCP connector that Claude and ChatGPT accept. Both routes read the same account.
Related: connecting Interactive Brokers to an AI assistant covers this broker in depth, and AI portfolio analysis covers what the reading half is worth on its own, which is most of the value.
FAQ
Can ChatGPT connect to Interactive Brokers?
Yes, in three ways: Interactive Brokers's own official connector, for Interactive Brokers accounts only; the built-in Finances feature, which links many US brokerages through Plaid to read holdings (depending on what the institution shares) and cannot trade; a connector that reaches Interactive Brokers through a regulated aggregator, which can also hold your other brokers in the same connection. Once connected, ChatGPT reads your real positions inside the conversation rather than answering from what you paste in.
Does ChatGPT see my real Interactive Brokers holdings?
Only through a connection you set up and authorise, either a Finances link (US only, and some institutions share balances but not holdings) or a connector. Without one it knows nothing about your account and will answer generically, which is the failure people mistake for a wrong answer. With one, it is reading the account rather than recalling anything.
Can ChatGPT place trades in my Interactive Brokers account?
Not through Walnut. Through Walnut, Interactive Brokers connects for reading only, so an assistant can analyse the account and cannot place an order in it that way. Interactive Brokers' own connector lets an assistant draft orders that you then submit yourself, so the read-only limit applies to Walnut's connection, not to every AI tool. ChatGPT's Finances feature cannot place trades either.
Is it safe to connect Interactive Brokers to an AI assistant?
The safe shape is the same regardless of assistant: you sign in at Interactive Brokers's own screen so no tool handles your password, access is scoped and revocable, and you can end it from the broker's side as well as the app's. Confirm those before connecting rather than assuming them.
What can it not do?
It does not know your tax position, your goals, or any account you have not connected, so advice depending on those is guessing unless you supply them. It also cannot see held-away accounts at other providers unless those are connected too, which is usually where the interesting problems are hiding.
Do I need ChatGPT at all?
No, and this is the part most pages on this subject miss. Walnut has its own built-in assistant that reads a connected Interactive Brokers account directly, so you can ask about your portfolio without ChatGPT or any other client supporting connectors. Using ChatGPT is a preference rather than a requirement.
Which brokers can an AI assistant actually trade?
Through Walnut, orders you approve are available at E*Trade, moomoo, Public, Questrade, Stake Australia, tastytrade, Trading212, Wealthsimple and Webull in both its US and Canadian entities. Fidelity, Robinhood, Schwab, Vanguard and Interactive Brokers connect to Walnut for tracking only. Separately, several brokers now run their own official AI connectors for their own accounts, including Robinhood, Interactive Brokers (which drafts orders for you to submit), Webull and Public.
What should I ask once it is connected?
Start with what it can see, before what you should do. Ask it to list your positions and their weights sorted by value, which is the fastest way to find out whether your portfolio is as diversified as the holdings count suggests. Then ask what your funds cost you in total each year.
Connect your broker to an AI assistant
Step-by-step guides for each major broker, plus the general setup guides for ChatGPT and Claude, which brokers have an AI assistant built in, and Walnut's MCP connector.
Related articles
Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser, and nothing here is investment advice. Assistant connector support and broker integrations both change; the positions described were checked again in October 2026 and are worth re-checking rather than assuming.