Tax Software Bots Frequently Give Bad Advice, Risking Mistakes
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TurboTax and H&R Block added AI chatbots to answer tax questions, but the bots often give inaccurate or misleading advice.
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The author tested the bots by asking questions with the help of tax professionals, and found over 50% of TurboTax's answers and 30% of H&R Block's answers unhelpful.
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The bots confidently provided wrong guidance on issues like filing status and cryptocurrency taxes. Relying on them could lead to mistakes or audits.
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The companies admit the bots are a "work in progress" but put them in their products anyway, using customers to improve them over time.
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Consumers should be wary of AI assistants where accuracy matters, and not necessarily trust companies to prioritize user interests over experimentation.