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For some of us, ChatGPT has already become an essential tool for navigating daily life. But how helpful is it when trying to narrow down the best FTSE stocks to ponder buying for 2026?
I ran a little experiment to find out.
The bot’s top five
The AI bot’s response was a smattering of the UK’s biggest and best-known companies:
- AstraZeneca
- National Grid
- Barclays
- Aviva
- Rolls-Royce
Each of the above has enjoyed excellent gains in 2025. Even the ‘worst’ performer — power provider National Grid — still rewarded holders with a 19% gain (as I type on 30 December). That’s on par with the index itself.
And let’s not forget that all of the above will have also distributed dividends over this period.
FTSE shining star
The inclusion of Rolls-Royce wasn’t exactly surprising. Investors enjoyed another marvellous year with the share price almost doubling.
Even so, this has left the stock at a punchy valuation of 35 times forecast FY26 earnings, implying that a lot of good news is already priced in. A ceasefire in Ukraine could see short-term traders jump ship.
So, is this where the music stops?
Possibly not. There’s still a lot to like here. Demand for air travel continues to be solid, boosting sales of engines (and the lucrative maintenance contracts that come with them). Regardless of what happens next in Eastern Europe, geopolitical jitters and higher defence spending by nations won’t go away overnight either.
Oh, and the balance sheet looks an awful lot more robust than it once did.
Put simply, a stock can keep rising even if it already looks expensive.
Not so fast
But as interesting as ChatGPT’s selection is, there are a few things that trouble me.
The bot only went for companies from the FTSE 100. That’s not wrong in itself. But it does mean that lots of other high-quality businesses from lower down the FTSE food chain have been ignored. And they could enjoy brilliant/better gains next year given sufficient boosts.
Second, Barclays and Aviva both sit in the Financials sector. Sure, share prices could fall en masse in the event of an economic catastrophe. But spreading risk around the market makes sense. So, there could be more diversification here.
Last, there were no turnaround or contrarian plays. In other words, the bot seemed drawn to stocks displaying positive momentum. And yet it’s often the case that the most hated in one year are most in demand the next.
Caution advised
To be fair, ChatGPT is as handicapped as we are when it comes to stock picking. No one truly knows what will happen next year. Curiously, it’s the long-term outlook we can be more confident about.
I also only asked for five suggestions. Realistically, an investor would be brave to restrict their portfolio to such a number, especially if generating passive income — which can never be guaranteed — were the goal.
But these caveats (and my earlier concerns) are exactly why I think ChatGPT should be used with caution (if at all). At best, the bot might get lucky. At worst, it could cause financial pain, especially as it has no idea how the person prompting it might behave in the event of a market crash.
Whatever happens in 2026, I won’t be delegating important decisions to AI.
