Individual investor A has been investing since early this year by creating a "virtual investment board" prompt (command) in ChatGPT. The method is to bring Warren Buffett, who values value investing, Peter Lynch, a growth stock investor, and Howard Marks, who emphasizes market cycles and risk management, into artificial intelligence (AI) to hear different investment opinions.
When stock prices, financial conditions, and recent issues of corporations of interest are entered, the "investment heavyweights" inside AI offer opinions such as buy, wait, or reduce exposure. A also shared the prompt created in an investment community. A said, "Whenever a fear of missing out (FOMO) arises in a surging market, I rely on (the AI's views)."
As the KOSPI index broke through the 7,500 mark intraday for the first time ever, more individual investors are trading stocks using Generative AI platforms. The goal is to quickly analyze the flood of market information and domestic and external variables.
However, many also say it should be used only as a supplementary tool, as Generative AI can cause a "hallucination phenomenon" in which it gives plausible answers based on incorrect information.
◇"I bought the stock Gemini picked"
On the 7th, online communities related to stocks were filled with posts saying they sought investment advice from AI. They included comments like "I bought the stock Gemini picked" and "I'm glad I trusted ChatGPT's analysis that the semiconductor sector is promising."
Some are trying to use AI to find the "next beneficiary stock." Riding on the "semiconductor supercycle," Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have surged, and people say they ask AI about related names in areas such as glass substrates, energy, and security.
In online investment communities, there were also posts mentioning security companies as AI beneficiary stocks, saying, "When I asked Gemini, it noted the possibility of increased security demand as data centers expand."
◇AI reads even changes in analysts' nuance
AI prompts for investing are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Beyond simply summarizing brokerages' target prices or investment opinions, they analyze whether the wording has turned more positive or more negative compared with prior reports. They also shortlist stocks of interest based on real-time mentions on social media and online communities.
Investors cite "speed" as AI's biggest advantage. The idea is that it can organize large volumes of information at once without having to search for brokerage reports, YouTube videos, and articles one by one.
Individual investor B, who uses AI to digest overseas news, said, "Because I can secure more information in a short time than before, using AI is essential for investing."
Rising market volatility is also cited as a reason people turn to AI. Since the start of the year, buy and sell sidecars have been triggered 14 times in the KOSPI market. That is the most since the 2008 global financial crisis. A sidecar is a system that suspends program trading for five minutes to mitigate market shocks when the KOSPI 200 futures price surges or plunges more than 5% from the previous day for one minute.
Search volume backs this up. According to Naver DataLab, searches for "AI investing" in early Mar., right after the Middle East war, jumped about fourfold compared with early Feb. It overlaps with the period when the KOSPI index plunged more than 10%.
◇AI also misjudges… Trusting it entirely can backfire
The problem is that AI can also be wrong. There are many cases where it gives plausible answers based on incorrect data or presents biased conclusions depending on how a question is asked.
It is easy to find accounts in online communities saying, "AI recommended a stock based on irrelevant financial data," and "I averaged up on Gemini's advice and took a loss."
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also listed the risks posed to investors by AI and automated investment tools as one of its "2026 examination priorities."
Experts therefore advised using AI as an auxiliary tool rather than entrusting it fully with investment decisions. Ko Hyun-ji, a senior official at the National Information Society Agency (NIA), said, "There are cases where hallucinations in AI provide incorrect investment information, leading to economic damage," and added, "AI should be used in ways that can draw out potential value while managing risk."