Retail Traders Report Extreme Returns Using AI Chatbots, Surveys Show Surging Adoption and Overconfidence

Dr. Reid Daitzman, a 79-year-old psychologist and computer programmer who has traded markets for more than 50 years, began experimenting with ChatGPT in April 2025. After feeding the model a screenshot of the S&P 500 and a set of parameters, he created a system called Merlin that now supplies pre-market buy and sell signals, one-minute price predictions, and explanations for each recommendation.

One demo brokerage account using Merlin posted a 788% return in the most recent month, according to screenshots and performance records viewed by Business Insider. Daitzman said the system took several weeks to build and continues to be refined as he adds new inputs. René Balke, a 32-year-old content creator who sells AI trading bots, began trading 12 years ago.

After two years of mostly losses, he manually coded an automated system and later used Claude to build additional bots. One of his fully automated brokerage accounts is up 106% this year, according to records he showed Business Insider. Balke estimates that sign-ups for his AI tools through his YouTube channel have risen about 50% in the past year.

He said the bots execute his strategy without emotion, producing more stable results than manual trading. Brendan Li, a 27-year-old former banker who runs an educational group for traders, began dabbling in markets while in college around the time crypto emerged. In 2024 he used the AI platform Cursor to build a trading agent.

One account he manages returned 87% in the last month, beating the S&P 500, according to brokerage screenshots. Li estimates that inbound clients to his group have increased more than 500% in the past year. The group now has around 380 core members who refine their own AI tools and share support.