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Meet Charlie

Your AI financial assistant — here to help you understand your money, not manage it for you.

We believe you deserve to know exactly how AI works in your financial app. No black boxes, no surprises — just transparency.

Hi, I'm Charlie 👋

Think of me as a knowledgeable friend who's great with numbers. I look at your financial data — your spending patterns, account balances, and transactions — and turn them into plain-English insights that actually make sense.

I'm not here to judge your spending or pressure you into anything. I'm here to help you see patterns you might miss, spot potential savings, and feel more confident about your financial decisions.

What Charlie Can Do

Spending Analysis

Break down where your money goes, identify trends, and highlight categories where spending has changed.

Savings Recommendations

Spot opportunities to save based on your actual habits — like subscriptions you might've forgotten or recurring charges that have crept up.

Budget Suggestions

Suggest realistic budget targets based on your income and spending history — not generic one-size-fits-all rules.

Net Worth Projections

Forecast where your net worth is heading based on current trends, helping you visualize your financial trajectory.

Goal Tracking Insights

Track progress toward your financial goals and get suggestions for reaching them faster.

Anomaly Detection

Flag unusual transactions that don't match your normal patterns — like unexpected charges or potential fraud.

What Charlie Can't Do

Being upfront about limitations is just as important as showcasing capabilities. Here's what Charlie is not:

Not a Licensed Financial Advisor

Charlie provides educational insights, not professional financial advice. For major financial decisions, consult a certified financial planner or advisor.

Can't Execute Trades or Transactions

Charlie is read-only. He can analyze your data and offer suggestions, but he cannot move money, execute trades, or make any changes to your accounts.

Doesn't Make Decisions for You

You're always in the driver's seat. Charlie presents information and suggestions — you decide what to do with them.

Recommendations Are Educational, Not Prescriptive

Every suggestion Charlie makes is meant to inform and educate. Nothing is a buy/sell/hold recommendation or a guarantee of any financial outcome.

Important: Charlie's insights are based on historical data and AI pattern recognition. They cannot account for future life events, market conditions, or personal circumstances that only you know about.

How Your Data Is Used

Your financial data is sensitive, and we treat it that way. Here's exactly what happens with your data when Charlie is involved:

Your Data Stays on Nova's Servers

Your financial data is stored securely on Nova's infrastructure with AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS 1.3 in transit. It never leaves our secure environment without your explicit action.

Not Sent to Third Parties for AI Training

Your data is never used to train OpenAI's models or any external AI systems. We have a Data Processing Agreement that explicitly prohibits this. Your conversations with Charlie are processed in real-time and not retained for training.

Charlie Analyzes Patterns, Not Raw Data

When Charlie generates insights, he works with aggregated patterns and categories — not individual account numbers, SSNs, or sensitive credentials. The AI sees "dining out increased 15%" not your credit card number.

Your Data Is Never Sold

Period. We don't sell your data, share it with advertisers, or monetize it in any way beyond providing you with the Nova service you signed up for.

The Technology Behind Charlie

You don't need to be a tech expert to understand how Charlie works. Here's the simple version:

🧠 Powered by OpenAI's GPT-4

Charlie uses the same foundational AI technology behind ChatGPT, customized specifically for financial conversations. This means Charlie understands context, speaks naturally, and can reason about complex financial situations.

📊 Processes Your Financial Patterns

When you ask Charlie a question, he looks at your aggregated financial data — spending categories, income patterns, balance trends, and goal progress — to generate a personalized answer. He doesn't guess; he works from your actual numbers.

🔗 Uses Your Transaction History & Account Data

Charlie has access to your connected account balances and transaction history within Nova. This lets him give you specific, relevant insights instead of generic financial tips you could find anywhere.

⚡ Real-Time, Not Pre-Baked

Every response Charlie gives is generated fresh based on your current data. There are no canned responses — each insight is uniquely tailored to your financial situation at that moment.

Want the full technical details? Check out our detailed AI transparency documentation, which covers model architectures, accuracy metrics, and regulatory compliance.

You're in Control

Charlie is entirely optional. Here are the controls available to you:

Disable AI Features

Turn off Charlie and all AI-powered insights with a single toggle. Nova's core features work independently.

Delete Conversation History

Wipe your entire AI conversation history at any time. Once deleted, it's gone permanently from our servers.

Choose Your Insights

Opt out of specific insight types you don't want. Keep spending analysis but skip budget suggestions — it's up to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Charlie have access to my bank login credentials?

No. Charlie never sees your bank login credentials. Nova connects to your financial institutions through Plaid, a trusted and regulated financial data provider. Charlie only works with the transaction and balance data that Plaid securely shares — never your usernames, passwords, or security questions.

Is my financial data used to train AI models?

No. Your financial data is never used to train OpenAI's models or any third-party AI systems. We have a Data Processing Agreement with OpenAI that explicitly prohibits using your data for model training. Your conversations with Charlie are processed in real-time and not retained by OpenAI for training purposes.

Can I use Nova without Charlie?

Absolutely. Charlie is completely optional. You can disable all AI features in your settings and still use every core feature of Nova — net worth tracking, account connections, transaction categorization, budgeting, and reporting all work independently of Charlie.

What happens to my conversation history with Charlie?

Your conversation history is stored securely on Nova's servers (encrypted at rest with AES-256) to provide context for future conversations. You can delete your entire conversation history at any time from Settings → AI Preferences. Once deleted, it's permanently removed from our servers.

Should I follow Charlie's financial recommendations?

Charlie's insights are educational and informational — they're designed to help you think about your finances, not to replace professional advice. Charlie is not a licensed financial advisor, and his recommendations should be considered alongside your own judgment and, when appropriate, guidance from a certified financial professional.

Want to Learn More?

Explore our detailed documentation on security, privacy, and AI compliance.

Ready to Try Charlie?

Start your free trial and see how AI-powered insights can help you understand your finances better.