I have written about personal finance for 15 years and when my editor suggested I use the string of code to see how much money I could save, I was skeptical.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m now on track to be \u00a3782 richer a year, and all thanks to the bot. <\/p>\n
So how did I save this much? <\/p>\n
Well, I started the process, naturally, by asking Chat GPT<\/a> what to do. It suggested that it provide me with a script to try to negotiate money off my utility bills.<\/p>\n So this is what I did, starting with broadband. I told Chat GPT that I had been with Vodafone for three years and didn\u2019t love it, as I personally found my Wi-Fi was quite patchy for the \u00a335 a month I was paying.<\/p>\n It instructed me to look at what other deals were out there (two minutes on uSwitch\u2019s website<\/a> and I could see Virgin was offering the cheapest home broadband in my area for \u00a323 a month). I reported back and asked for a script, which was concise and persuasive. I was a loyal customer who had seen this better deal, it told me to say: could Vodafone better it?<\/p>\n Because chatting about broadband speeds is slightly less appealing than root canal work, I asked Chat GPT<\/a> if I could email rather than call. I could, it said grudgingly (or perhaps I imagined that), but it can be most effective to resolve things by phone, not to mention quicker. \u201cLet\u2019s do this the old-fashioned way,\u201d I said to myself as I dialed the number.<\/p>\n I read the script word-for-word and the woman from Vodafone immediately folded, offering me a reduction on our bill of \u00a322 a month including VAT. Result! <\/p>\n This saved me \u00a3156 a year. Buoyed by my quick win, it motivated me to tackle the big one: energy. I explained to Chat GPT that we liked our provider (Octopus) and wanted to stick with them.<\/p>\n I emailed Octopus using the script the bot suggested. \u201cAs prices and market conditions have been shifting, I want to ensure I\u2019m still on the most cost-effective plan,\u201d I typed, requesting a review of my tariff.<\/p>\n This set off an email exchange as confusing as an AI-umpired tennis match. After six times going back and forth I was no closer to getting the point, and was forced to pick up the phone after all (yes, Chat GPT<\/a>, I know). I then pretended to listen for 25 minutes while the very helpful operator at Octopus went through all the different options. As our usage is high (two kids and a lodger, and my fondness for deep, hot baths) she suspected a variable tariff for gas would suit us best and an agile tariff \u2013 which changes by the hour \u2013 for electricity. <\/p>\n Looking at our usage over the past year, she could see that had we been on the agile tariff, we would have paid \u00a345 less for our electricity last month alone. And assuming this increase happens across the year (and acknowledging there are a lot of variables, but for the sake of simplicity let\u2019s go with it) we could be \u00a3540 better off a year. And that\u2019s just for electricity.<\/p>\n For gas, had we been on the variable tariff this past year rather than a fixed one, we would have been \u00a386 better off. Sold. I switched our tariffs. Total likely annual saving: a whopping \u00a3626, which took less than four hours over two weeks. The energy negotiations took the longest (two or three hours).<\/p>\n Oh, Chat GPT, you are good. But it seems you can\u2019t work miracles. While researching this piece I received a \u00a390 penalty for not paying a charge to use a tunnel in south London that I have been driving through for decades but, I\u2019m pretty sure, didn\u2019t charge previously. Coupled with the fact that I was having a terrible day for personal reasons I won\u2019t bore you with here.<\/p>\n I consulted Chat GPT, hoping it could wave a magic wand and make it go away. And it wrote me a blinder of a letter to email, stating it was my first time making this mistake and I\u2019d be willing to pay the original charge. A week later my hopes were dashed and my faith in the bot dented, when I received a reply from Transport for London. No dice. I paid the fine.<\/p>\n Not all bills I managed to haggle down, however. It was time to renew my house insurance but I discovered our old policy hadn\u2019t recorded the fact we had a lodger. So, back to Chat GPT: which insurers cover this? It recommended Emerald Life.<\/p>\n After a long phone conversation where I struggled to remember the make of my key lock, I was quoted \u00a31,627.24 \u2013 a lot more than the \u00a3436 we used to pay. Now this doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it\u2019s not the right policy for us, of course, but I did go back to my trusty AI companion<\/a> for help drafting a reply, asking if they could do a better price.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter reviewing comparable policies and considering my current risk profile \u2014 no recent claims, a well-maintained property, and consistent insurance history \u2014 I was hoping you might offer a more competitive premium,\u201d it suggested. Nice. I\u2019m waiting to hear back. <\/p>\n In terms of my bills, I\u2019ve covered the main ones, since my job pays my mobile phone bill (thank you, boss) and you can\u2019t haggle down water bills. The only option is to go with a water meter and that usually saves you money only when you have fewer than three people in a house, possibly four. It\u2019s unlikely to make a difference to five of us and a cat.<\/p>\n![\"Jessie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_259834451.jpg\")
ChatGPT offered negotiation scripts for providers (Photo: Teri Pengilley)<\/p>\n