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AI Financial Insights

Understanding AI-Powered Financial Insights

Cognito Money's AI Insights feature leverages artificial intelligence to analyze your financial data and provide personalized recommendations, observations, and opportunities.

New in November 2025:

Enhanced Chatbot Features!

  • Conversation Persistence - Your chat history stays intact when you navigate between pages!
  • Draggable Positioning - Move the chatbot window anywhere on screen (PC/tablet)
  • Minimize Feature - Collapse chatbot to just the header bar (all devices)
  • Tags & Notes Access - AI can now see and search your transaction notes and #tags

What are AI Financial Insights?

AI Insights analyze your financial data to provide:

  • Detection of unusual spending patterns
  • Identification of saving opportunities
  • Recommendations for budget adjustments
  • Analysis of spending trends
  • Personalized financial advice based on your transaction history
  • Answers to specific questions about your finances
  • NEW: Search your transaction notes and #tags for context-aware answers
How AI Insights Work

Cognito Money's AI system:

  1. Securely analyzes your transaction history and other financial data
  2. Uses advanced AI models (like Claude, Gemini, or GPT) to process your data
  3. Generates insights based on patterns in your spending and income
  4. Presents findings in clear, easy-to-understand language
  5. Allows for follow-up questions and conversations about your finances
  6. NEW: Maintains conversation context as you browse different pages
    7. Accessing AI Financial Assistant

    You can access the AI Financial Assistant in two ways:

    1. Floating Chat Widget (Quick Access) ENHANCED
    • Look for the pulsing robot icon in the bottom-right corner of any page
    • Click to open the chat window instantly
    • Ask questions without leaving your current page
    • The AI knows what page you're on for context-aware help
    • Available on every page (Dashboard, Transactions, Bills, etc.)
    • NEW: Conversation persists when you navigate to different pages!
    • NEW: Drag to reposition anywhere on screen (PC/tablet only)
    • NEW: Minimize to header bar when you need more screen space
    2. Full AI Page (Comprehensive Analysis)
    • Navigate to Tools > AI Financial Assistant in the main menu
    • Access all advanced analysis options
    • Use quick analysis buttons and date range selection
    • Best for in-depth financial reviews
    Tip:

    Use the floating chatbot for quick questions while browsing, and visit the full AI page when you want comprehensive analysis with date ranges and advanced options.

    New in October 2025:

    Unified AI Interface - We've combined all AI features into one page!

    • Ask custom questions (prominent at the top)
    • Quick analysis buttons for common tasks
    • Advanced options for deep analysis (collapsible)
    • All powered by the latest AI models
    Setup Requirements:

    To use AI features, you need at least one AI provider configured:

    • Anthropic Claude (Recommended - Best for financial analysis)
    • Google Gemini (Fast alternative)
    • OpenAI GPT (Backup option)

    Set up your API key in the .env file or using the setup scripts provided.

Enhanced Chatbot Capabilities

The floating AI chatbot has been significantly enhanced with new features for November 2025:

Conversation Persistence (Nov 1, 2025)

Your conversations now stay intact as you browse!

  • Ask a question on one page, navigate to another - your chat history persists
  • Chatbot automatically reopens if it was open when you navigated
  • AI maintains context from previous questions for better follow-ups
  • Conversation clears when you close your browser (fresh start, privacy-friendly)
Example Workflow:
  1. Open chatbot on Dashboard: "How much did I spend on groceries in October?"
  2. Navigate to Transactions page to verify the data
  3. Chatbot stays open with your previous question visible
  4. Continue: "What about restaurants?" - AI remembers you're asking about October spending
  5. Navigate to Budgets page to compare against budget
  6. Ask: "Am I over budget?" - full context maintained!
Draggable Positioning (Nov 4, 2025 - PC/Tablet)

Move the chatbot window anywhere you need it!

  • Click and hold the chatbot header (look for grip dots
  • Drag the window to any position on your screen
  • Prevents chatbot from blocking important content
  • Position is remembered across page navigation
  • Double-click header to reset to default bottom-right position
  • Note: Dragging only available on screens wider than 768px (tablets/desktops)
Minimize Feature (Nov 4, 2025 - All Devices)

Get the chatbot out of the way without closing it!

  • Click the minus (-) button in chatbot header to minimize
  • Minimized chatbot shows only the header bar - conversation hidden but preserved
  • Click plus (+) button to expand and continue where you left off
  • Minimize state persists across page navigation
  • You can still drag the minimized header bar (PC/tablet)
  • Works on all devices - mobile, tablet, and desktop
Tags & Notes Access (Nov 1, 2025)

AI can now see your transaction notes and #tags!

  • Search transactions by the notes you've added
  • Find expenses with specific #tags
  • AI understands your personal organization system
  • More contextual and accurate query results
Example Queries with Tags/Notes:
  • "Show me transactions with notes about Teddy"
  • "What did I spend with #reimbursable tag?"
  • "Find all #vacation expenses"
  • "Show transactions mentioning 'split with John' in notes"
  • "How much on #groceries vs #dining?"
Device-Specific Behavior
Device Draggable Minimize Persistence
Mobile (≤768px) ❌ No ✅ Yes ✅ Yes
Tablet/Desktop (>768px) ✅ Yes ✅ Yes ✅ Yes
Pro Tips:
  • Position chatbot before starting analysis to avoid it covering data you want to reference
  • Minimize chatbot when viewing detailed tables or charts, then expand to ask questions
  • Navigate freely while thinking about your next question - your conversation will be there when you need it
  • Use tags liberally in transactions - makes AI searches much more powerful

Quick Analysis Buttons

The AI Financial Assistant page features easy-access buttons for common analysis types:

Spending Analysis
  • Breakdown of expenses by category
  • Identification of spending trends over time
  • Comparison of current spending to historical patterns
  • Identification of unusual or unexpected expenses
  • Analysis of spending at specific merchants
  • NEW: Can filter by #tags and search notes for context
Budget Suggestions
  • Recommendations for adjusting category budgets based on actual spending
  • Identification of categories where you consistently overspend
  • Suggestions for categories where you might be able to reduce budgets
  • Comparison of spending habits to recommended budget guidelines (like the 50/30/20 rule)
Saving Opportunities
  • Detection of recurring expenses that could potentially be reduced or eliminated
  • Identification of spending categories with unusual increases
  • Suggestions for cost-saving alternatives based on your spending patterns
  • Analysis of subscription services and recurring charges
Spending Trends
  • Month-over-month comparison of spending
  • Identification of seasonal spending patterns
  • Analysis of spending growth or reduction over time
  • Comparison of different spending categories
Anomaly Detection
  • Identification of unusual transactions
  • Detection of spending spikes in specific categories
  • Recognition of potential duplicate charges
  • Alerts for atypical payment amounts
Prediction & Forecasting
  • Estimation of future spending based on historical patterns
  • Projection of when you'll reach savings goals
  • Forecast of upcoming bill amounts
  • Prediction of end-of-month balance
Custom Questions:

You can also ask the AI any custom question about your finances! Examples:

  • "How much did I spend on groceries last month?"
  • "What are my most expensive recurring charges?"
  • "Show me all transactions over $100 in October"
  • "Compare my restaurant spending: this month vs last month"
  • NEW: "Show me all #vacation expenses"
  • NEW: "Find transactions with notes about 'car repair'"

Common Issues and Solutions
Problem: "AI features are disabled" message
Solutions:
  1. Check that at least one AI API key is properly configured in your .env file
  2. Make sure the API keys don't still have placeholder values
  3. Verify that the DISABLE_AI_FEATURES setting is set to False in your .env file
  4. Restart the application after making any changes to the .env file
Problem: Analysis fails with an error
Solutions:
  1. Check that your selected date range contains transaction data
  2. Ensure your API key is valid and has sufficient credits
  3. Try selecting a different AI model
  4. Make sure the "Disable Fallback" option is unchecked
  5. Refresh the page and try again
Problem: Analysis takes too long to complete
Solutions:
  1. Try selecting a shorter date range with fewer transactions
  2. Check your internet connection
  3. Try using a different AI model (some models are faster than others)
  4. For enhanced analysis, try a more focused analysis type
  5. Keep your browser tab active during analysis
Problem: Unclear or inaccurate answers to questions
Solutions:
  1. Rephrase your question to be more specific
  2. Include explicit date ranges in your question
  3. Use the exact category names as they appear in your data
  4. Ask follow-up questions for clarification
  5. Try a more advanced AI model if available
  6. NEW: Use #tags in your transactions to help AI understand context better
SOLVED - November 2025: Conversation Now Persists!

Great News: The floating chatbot now maintains your conversation history when you navigate between pages!

How It Works:

  • Ask a question on one page, navigate to another page - your conversation stays intact
  • Browse around while thinking about follow-up questions
  • The chatbot automatically reopens if it was open when you navigated
  • Conversation clears when you close your browser (fresh start next time)

Example:

  1. Open chatbot on Dashboard and ask: "How much did I spend on groceries?"
  2. Navigate to Transactions page to verify the data
  3. Chatbot stays open with your previous question visible
  4. Continue with: "What about restaurants?" - AI remembers the context!

Note: Conversation history is stored temporarily during your browser session. It clears automatically when you close the browser for privacy.

Problem: Chatbot window is covering important content
Solutions: NEW NOV 2025
  1. Drag it: Click and hold the chatbot header, then drag to a better position (PC/tablet)
  2. Minimize it: Click the minus (-) button to collapse to just the header bar
  3. Remember: Your preferred position and minimize state are saved across pages
  4. Reset: Double-click the header to return to default bottom-right position