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AI Financial Assistant

Page Updated - October 2025

The Enhanced Analysis features have been merged into the AI Financial Assistant page for a better user experience.

View AI Financial Assistant Help

Advanced AI-Powered Financial Analysis

All AI features are now available in one unified interface at Tools > AI Financial Assistant.

What is Enhanced Financial Analysis?

Enhanced Analysis is Cognito Money's advanced AI-driven financial analysis tool that lets you dive deeper into specific aspects of your finances:

  • Detailed examination of specific spending categories
  • Subscription cost optimization recommendations
  • Comprehensive assessment of your financial health
  • Identification of potential savings opportunities
  • Analysis of income patterns and optimization
How Enhanced Analysis Differs from Regular Insights

While the standard AI Insights feature provides quick observations about your finances, Enhanced Analysis:

  • Lets you choose specific analysis types to focus on
  • Provides more detailed, specialized reports
  • Offers more comprehensive recommendations
  • Allows date range selection for targeted analysis
  • Gives you a choice of AI models for analysis
Tip:

Use Enhanced Analysis when you want to dive deeper into a specific aspect of your finances, such as understanding spending in a particular category or optimizing your subscription expenses.

Starting the Analysis Process

To access and run an Enhanced Analysis:

  1. Navigate to Tools>AI Insights, or go to More>Ai Insights
    2. in the main menu
  2. Click on the Enhanced Analysis tab
  3. Select a date range for your analysis (optional)
  4. Choose an AI model from the dropdown menu (optional)
  5. Choose whether to disable the fallback option (optional)
  6. Select one of the five analysis types by clicking its respective button:
    • Category Analysis (requires selecting a specific category)
    • Subscription Optimization
    • Financial Health Assessment
    • Savings Opportunities
    • Income Optimization
Analysis Processing Time

When you run an analysis:

  • A modal window will appear showing a loading indicator
  • Analysis typically takes 15-30 seconds to complete
  • Larger date ranges may take slightly longer to analyze
  • Results will automatically display in the modal when complete
Note:

Each analysis type is run independently. To get insights in multiple areas, you'll need to run each analysis type separately.

Available Analysis Types

Enhanced Analysis offers five specialized analysis types:

1. Category Analysis

A deep dive into spending within a specific category:

  • Select any category from your transaction data
  • See detailed spending patterns within that category
  • Identify top merchants and frequency of purchases
  • Get recommendations for potential savings or better spending habits
  • Compare actual spending against budget (if set) for the category
2. Subscription Optimization

Analysis focused on recurring expenses and subscriptions:

  • Identifies all subscription-like expenses in your data
  • Provides an overview of your monthly subscription burden
  • Suggests potential redundancies or underutilized services
  • Recommends opportunities to cancel, downgrade, or consolidate
  • Calculates potential monthly and annual savings
3. Financial Health Assessment

A comprehensive evaluation of your overall financial situation:

  • Analyzes your income-to-expense ratio
  • Evaluates debt levels and payment patterns
  • Assesses savings behavior and emergency fund status
  • Identifies strengths and weaknesses in your financial picture
  • Provides prioritized recommendations for improved financial health
4. Savings Opportunities

Focused analysis on ways to reduce expenses and increase savings:

  • Identifies categories where your spending may be higher than necessary
  • Highlights potential one-time or recurring savings opportunities
  • Suggests specific actions to reduce costs
  • Estimates potential monthly and annual savings amounts
  • Provides practical implementation steps for each suggestion
5. Income Optimization

Analysis of your income patterns and potential improvements:

  • Reviews income stability and diversity of income sources
  • Identifies seasonal patterns or trends in your income
  • Suggests potential ways to increase or stabilize income
  • Evaluates income growth over time
  • Provides recommendations based on your specific income situation

Interpreting Your Analysis Results

When an analysis completes, results are presented in a modal window with formatted text including:

Analysis Structure
  • Overview: A summary of key findings
  • Detailed Observations: Specific patterns identified in your data
  • Recommendations: Suggested actions based on the analysis
  • Additional Context: Supporting data or explanations
Text Formatting

The analysis results use formatting to enhance readability:

  • Headings and subheadings organize information
  • Bold text highlights important points
  • Numbered lists indicate prioritized recommendations
  • Bullet points group related information
  • Occasional tables present structured data
Working with Results

After viewing your analysis, you can:

  • Copy Results: Save the text to paste elsewhere
  • Print: Generate a printer-friendly version
  • Close: Dismiss the modal to return to the analysis selection
Tip:

Consider using the print or copy feature to save important analyses for reference later, as results are not automatically saved in the system.

Choosing an AI Model for Analysis

Enhanced Analysis allows you to select from different AI models to perform your analysis:

Available AI Providers

Depending on your configuration, you may have access to models from:

  • Anthropic: Claude AI models (if API key configured)
  • Gemini: Google's Gemini AI models (if API key configured)
  • OpenAI: GPT models (if API key configured)
Model Selection Options

The model selector provides:

  • A dropdown menu with available AI models
  • Default selection based on your system configuration
  • Option to disable fallback (use only the selected model without falling back to alternatives)
Model Selection Best Practices
  • Use the default model for most analyses
  • Try a different model if results seem insufficient
  • More advanced models may provide more detailed analysis
  • Keep the "Disable Fallback" option unchecked unless troubleshooting
Note:

At least one AI provider API key must be configured in your Cognito Money settings to use Enhanced Analysis. See the AI Configuration section in Settings if you need to set up or change your API keys.

Getting the Most from Enhanced Analysis
Data Quality Tips
  • Ensure proper categorization - Accurate analysis depends on transactions being correctly categorized
  • Maintain complete data - Include all transactions for the most comprehensive analysis
  • Set meaningful descriptions - Descriptive transaction names help the AI better understand your finances
  • Keep budgets updated - Current budgets allow for more meaningful budget vs. actual comparisons
Analysis Selection Tips
  • Use Category Analysis for targeted investigation of specific spending areas
  • Run Subscription Optimization quarterly to identify services you may no longer need
  • Perform Financial Health Assessment at major financial milestones or annually
  • Look for Savings Opportunities when you need to reduce expenses
  • Use Income Optimization when considering career moves or revenue strategies
Date Range Selection
  • Current year to date - Good default for most analyses
  • Last 3 months - Best for recent patterns and immediate opportunities
  • Last 6-12 months - Better for seasonal patterns and long-term trends
  • Custom ranges - Useful for analyzing specific financial periods
Success Tip:

Take notes when reviewing analysis results and immediately implement the highest-impact recommendations. Set calendar reminders to check your progress after implementing changes.

Common Enhanced Analysis Issues and Solutions

If your analysis doesn't start or gets stuck:

  1. Check your internet connection
  2. Verify that at least one AI provider is properly configured
  3. Try a different AI model
  4. Uncheck "Disable Fallback" if checked
  5. Refresh the page and try again
  6. Try a smaller date range if analyzing a large period

If the analysis results don't seem relevant or accurate:

  • Check your transaction categorization for errors
  • Ensure all your transactions are properly recorded
  • Try a more advanced AI model from the dropdown
  • Adjust the date range to include more relevant data
  • For Category Analysis, make sure you've selected the correct category

If you see warnings about missing API keys or provider configuration:

  1. At least one AI provider API key must be configured to use Enhanced Analysis
  2. Check your .env file for proper API key configuration
  3. Accepted providers are Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini), and OpenAI
  4. After updating API keys, restart the application
  5. Check the API key badge status at the top of the Enhanced Analysis page

If you have trouble printing or copying analysis results:

  1. For printing issues, try using your browser's print function (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P) instead
  2. If copy doesn't work, try manually selecting the text and using Ctrl+C or Cmd+C
  3. Some browsers may require permissions for clipboard access
  4. Try using a different browser if issues persist
Need more help?

If you continue to experience issues with Enhanced Analysis, please contact support for personalized assistance.