Guides

Straight answers to the questions people ask about AI trading bots, backed by the receipts: our backtests, prompt tests and broker tracker. Backtest and paper results only, not financial advice.

• Do AI Trading Bots Actually Work? What 5 Viral Bots Did in Backtests
  We rebuilt 5 viral AI trading bots from X and Reddit and backtested them since 2019 against buy-and-hold. Here's how many beat the market, and why most didn't.
• Can ChatGPT or Claude Build a Trading Bot? We Graded 5 Prompts
  We gave ChatGPT 5 trading-bot prompts and checked every backtest against our own engine. 1 passed, 4 were partial. Here's what went wrong and how to prompt better.
• Which Brokers Let AI Trade for You? Robinhood, Alpaca, IBKR and 12 More
  Robinhood, Alpaca, Interactive Brokers and 12 more brokers compared on AI agent access: who lets an AI place orders, who requires approval, and who has paper trading.
• Is That AI Trading Bot Legit? 10 Red Flags to Check First
  10 red flags in AI trading bot claims, from 100% win rates to missing drawdowns, each shown with real backtests of viral bots we tested and the CFTC's scam warnings.
• How to Paper Trade an AI Trading Bot: Brokers, Setup and Pitfalls
  How to paper trade an AI trading bot step by step: which brokers have paper modes for bots, how to set one up safely, and the paper-mode bugs we found in ChatGPT code.
• Can ChatGPT Trade Stocks for You? What It Can and Can't Do
  ChatGPT can't trade on its own, but Robinhood, Public and IBKR connectors let it place orders. What it can do, the risks, and what backtests of viral bots show.
• How to Backtest a Trading Bot (Free, in Python): A Checklist From 5 Viral Bots
  How to backtest a trading bot for free in Python: next-bar fills, slippage, a long test window and a buy-and-hold benchmark, shown with backtests of 5 viral AI bots we tested.
• Do Crypto AI Trading Bots Work? 2 Viral Bots vs Holding Bitcoin
  We backtested 2 viral crypto trading bots since 2019 against holding Bitcoin. Both made money, neither came close, and a 100% win rate hid big losses.
• Moving Average Crossover Backtest: A Viral 20/50 SPY Bot Since 2019
  We backtested a viral 20/50 moving average crossover bot on SPY since 2019: every trade, the 2020 crash, the 2022 whipsaws, and how it did vs buy-and-hold.
• HMM Regime Switching Strategy: A Viral Bull/Bear Bot Backtested Since 2019
  We rebuilt a viral HMM regime-switching bot (bull, bear, sideways) with a walk-forward model and backtested it on SPY since 2019. Smaller drops, much lower returns.
• How Much Do AI Trading Bots Cost? Prices of 54 Tools Compared
  Prices from 54 AI trading tools' own pricing pages: how many are free, typical paid plans, annual vs monthly billing, and the near-$0 DIY route to a bot.