AI Can Decrease Your Cost of Living: Here's How

Look, we're all a little nervous that AI will take our jobs and ultimately kill us all in The Great Robot Uprising, but until then, artificial intelligence can do some pretty clever things. So go ahead, lean into AI, and find out what it can do for you —especially when it comes to saving money. 

Editor's Note:This is part two in a series of ways that AI can save you money. As the technology progresses and we learn new ways of using it, we'll be sure to pass those tips along. You can check out part one here. 

AI-powered budgeting and expense-tracking apps can automatically analyze your spending patterns, categorize expenses, and provide insights into your financial habits. Apps that use AI to tell you to stop spending so much on guilty pleasures or frivolous purchases are Cleo, Fyle, Jenji, Planful, and Wizely. And if you want AI to make you feel bad about your spending, Cleo even features a Roast Mode to send you insult messages. 

If you don't already have Alexa or Google Nest in your home, you may not realize how handy these services are. You can use her to tell you about traffic jams (so you don't waste gas), ask her to order anything you've bought on Amazon (to spare you from making a last-minute restocking run to a less-than-cheap store), and can even play free music and podcasts (if you link her to the iHeart app). 

Get an AI-powered thermostat, and you'll find yourself effortlessly saving on utilities. The AI can learn when you aren't home, so it can turn off the A/C or lower it. It can also come up with a money-saving schedule to turn it up (or down) at bedtime and/or when you wake up. It's a small investment (the Google Nest usually costs a little over $200) but one that can pay off quickly. 

Want to take a cheap trip? You can ask Alexa, "Where can I go for X amount of money," and she'll tell you about cheap deals nationally and internationally (I asked my Alexa where I could go for $200, and she told me about super cheap flights to Spain). Try Skyscanner or Kayak — which both use AI — for more intensive sleuthing.

While AI can't stand guard around your house (yet), it can do plenty to make sure your home is safe — and do it for far less other methods might cost. Examples: Turn security cameras off or on, speak to door-knockers from a remote location, or simply activate an alarm system from afar.

While we've previously written about how ChatGPT can help you meal plan or create a grocery list, there are other ways the technology can help save on food. Tell ChatGPT what you have in your fridge, and ask for recipes — a great way to make sure you use what you've already spent money on. You can also ask for couponing tips and tricks to save money at the grocery store.