How we protect each other – and your finances - in an AI world

You’ve probably noticed that AI is changing how you handle everyday tasks, too. New tools and AI assistants are exciting ways to help guide your financial decision making. At the same time, handing over control of your finances to another party can be an unexpected or unintended risk.

As you explore new technologies, we want you to explore them thoughtfully and work with us to keep your financial information safe while you do.

Are you aware of how AI agents work on your behalf?

Until now, third-party financial apps have typically gathered account information to give you a consolidated view of your finances to help you guide your decisions. It’s a one-way flow of information that continues to give you all of the decision-making power.

Giving a third-party AI tool access to your account credentials may be different. You may be enabling it to log on to your account, make payments or transfers, complete other transactions, or change account and security settings.

Essentially, you are handing over some of your decision making. We believe that, ultimately, you should remain in charge.

AI tools can also make mistakes, so it’s important to understand what you’re connecting and what a tool can do.

Just how valuable do you consider your information?

First and foremost, we want you to protect your USAA account access at all costs. Your login details are what bad actors – intentional or otherwise – want most.

Never share your online ID, password, USAA PIN or one-time codes with another person or an outside service, including an AI assistant or agent offering to access or act on your behalf.

Here’s how to stay secure:

• Keep it private. Protect your USAA online ID, password, PIN and one-time codes.
• Stay in control. Review important financial actions before you approve them. Set up account alerts to help you monitor activity.
• Know what you’ve connected. Review what information an app or AI tool can access and remove access you don’t need.
• Pause and verify. AI can make fake calls, texts, emails, photos and videos look real. If a request seems urgent or unexpected, check it first. Contact the person or company another way, using a number, app or website you trust.

We’re excited about what AI, used responsibly, can do for you. As we work together to help you manage your finances and save you money, innovation will unlock new possibilities. At the same time, we want to continue working with you to ensure the security and wellbeing of your finances and help you maintain the oversight you want.

As your financial partner, we’ll keep bringing you new ways to make your financial life easier, and we’ll always help you stay secure and protect what matters most.