AI, Opinion Ecosystems, and Finance

Generative AI use for content generation is associated with divergent outcomes on different financial social media platforms: indications of reasoning enhancement on Seeking Alpha, and of belief distortions on WallStreetBets.On Seeking Alpha, adoption is associated with information frictions.AI-assisted postings tilt toward analysis/credibility, and their sentiment positively predicts future returns.Use of AI is associated with more informative retail order flow and lower bid-ask spreads.In contrast, AI adoption on WallStreetBets follows surges in retail buying, and AIassisted content is associated with emotionality and sentiment contagion.Such content precedes higher trading volume, greater volatility, and more lottery-like return distributions.