4600% Surge in AI Canadian Online Bank Reviews: 2018 to 2025

In recent years, the financial services landscape has undergone a profound transformation driven by advances in artificial intelligence (AI). 

From algorithmic trading to customer service chatbots, the use cases for AI have continued to expand, and nowhere is that more visible than in the realm of online customer reviews. 

As major Canadian online banks strive to enhance their digital footprints and differentiate themselves in a competitive market, customer feedback has become a critical barometer of both brand reputation and service quality. 

Yet, the rise of sophisticated text-generation models raises an important question: to what extent are “customer” reviews genuinely the product of human experience, and how much are being authored or heavily edited by AI?

In this study, we investigated the prevalence of AI reviews for Canadian online banks — Simplii Financial, Tangerine, Wealthsimple, and PC Financial — from 2018 to 2025. 

Objectives of the Study

This study examines the prevalence of AI-generated reviews across four leading Canadian online banking platforms, Simplii Financial, Tangerine, Wealthsimple, and PC Financial, from 2018 to 2025. 

Leveraging our proprietary Originality.ai AI detection tool, we analyzed reviews to determine whether they were human-written or AI-generated. Then, we calculated annual rates of AI-authored content for each noted financial institution. 

Key Takeaways (TL;DR)

• AI Canadian online bank reviews have increased by 4600% — 2018 to 2025.
• In 2018, reviews were primarily human-written for each financial institution studied:
  
  • Tangerine had 99% human-written reviews (1% AI reviews). 
  • Simplii Financial, Wealthsimple, and PC Financial had 100% human-written reviews (0% AI reviews).
• By 2025, Simplii Financial, Tangerine, Wealthsimple, and PC Financial all saw AI-authored review rates exceed 10%.
• Averaging across all four banks, the mean AI review rate climbed from just 0.25% in 2018 to approximately 11.75% in 2025, representing a 4600% increase in AI reviews.

Interested in learning more about the impact of AI on the Canadian financial services sector? Read our analysis of AI Canadian “Big 5” bank reviews.

2018 to 2025: AI Canadian Online Bank Reviews Rose by 4600%

From 2018 to 2025, the prevalence of AI-generated reviews across these four Canadian online banks rose sharply. 

In 2018, reviews at the Canadian online banks studied were primarily human-written:

• Tangerine had 99% human-written reviews
• Simplii Financial, Wealthsimple, and PC Financial had 100% human-written reviews.

Only Tangerine registered a non-zero rate of AI reviews (1.0%) in 2018, while Simplii Financial, Wealthsimple, and PC Financial all began at 0.0% AI-generated reviews. 

As of 2025, AI review rates have notably increased

By 2025, each institution — Simplii Financial, Tangerine, Wealthsimple, and PC Financial —  saw its AI-authored review rate exceed 10%. 

Averaging across all four banks, the mean AI review rate:

• Climbed from just 0.25% in 2018 to approximately 11.75% in 2025
• Representing an overall increase of 4600% in AI reviews from 2018 to 2025.

Notably, there was a range of changes in AI levels across the institutions. Wealthsimple saw an early uptick in AI reviews around 2021, while Tangerine and Simplii Financial exhibited more gradual rate increases.

Bank-by-bank analysis demonstrated that:

• Simplii Financial experienced the largest jump with its AI-generated review rate rising from 0% in 2018 to 14% in 2025. 
• Tangerine then had a 10-point increase. Its AI review levels rose from 1% in 2018 to 11% in 2025.
• Wealthsimple and PC Financial saw identical 11.0-point gains, increasing from 0% AI reviews in 2018 to 11% AI reviews in 2025.

This range of changes suggests that, although all of the studied Canadian online banks have been affected by the surge in synthetic content, certain banks (such as Simplii Financial) have encountered a higher influx of AI-authored feedback.

11.8% of Canadian Online Bank Reviews Were Likely AI in 2025

Early in the period studied (2018), AI-authored content was low or zero, prior to the launch of mainstream AI tools like ChatGPT (in 2022).

However, by 2025, there was a marked increase in AI-generated review rates to an average of almost 12%. 

This signals a clear shift in the dynamics of online customer feedback for Canadian digital banks.

How Does This Impact Consumers?

These findings underscore a broader industry trend: as text-generation tools have matured, AI-generated reviews have proliferated on financial services platforms. 

Canadian online banks now contend with more than one in ten reviews being flagged as AI-authored, a stark contrast to the near-absence of synthetic reviews 

For banks, this trajectory highlights the urgent need to bolster review-moderation protocols, incorporate AI detection, and educate customers about the distinction between genuine and AI-assisted feedback.

From a consumer-trust perspective, the rising prevalence of AI-generated reviews presents a two-fold challenge. 

First, genuine customers may find it increasingly difficult to differentiate between authentic experiences and AI-crafted testimonials (especially considering studies have shown humans struggle to identify AI), potentially undermining confidence in both the review ecosystem and the institution. 

Second, banks may be met with reviews that do not correspond to actual service improvements, skewing their internal performance metrics and strategic decision-making. 

To mitigate these risks, financial institutions should transparently disclose their review-moderation practices and incorporate AI detection.

Final Thoughts

Our analysis of AI-generated review rates across four major Canadian online banks reveals a pronounced industry-wide escalation of synthetic feedback. 

As of 2025, more than one in ten Canadian online bank reviews is flagged as AI-authored, with individual institutions’ AI review levels ranging from approximately 11% to 14%. 

These findings highlight the urgent need for banks to strengthen AI detection frameworks and communicate clearly with customers about review integrity.

Ultimately, maintaining trust in online reviews will require an ongoing commitment to AI-detection strategies and transparent engagement with all stakeholders in the digital feedback ecosystem.

Wondering whether a post or review you’re reading might be AI-generated? Use the Originality.ai AI detector to find out.

Read more about the impact of AI:

• Is That Canadian “Big 5” Bank Review You’re Reading, Real or Fake?
• How Originality.ai Could Have Prevented the AI-Generated Book List Scandal
• 1,586% Increase in AI Lawyer’s Office Reviews in the USA: 2022 to 2025
• 376.3% Increase in AI Glassdoor Reviews for S&P 500 Companies: 2022 to 2024

Methodology

This study analyzed AI-generated customer reviews among Canada's main online banks — Wealthsimple, Simplii Financial, Tangerine, and PC Financial — using web scraping and AI detection tools.

Customer reviews were collected using Python scripts with BeautifulSoup and Requests libraries from platforms like ConsumerAffairs and Trustpilot. The data, including review content and dates, was saved in CSV format.

Reviews with 50+ words were analyzed using the Originality.ai API. An automated script sent review data for analysis, returning AI likelihood scores and binary classifications (AI or human). The script included error handling and retry features for reliability.

Results, including dates, bank names, review texts, and AI scores, were logged and saved periodically. Final datasets were compiled into CSV files for trend analysis from 2018 to 2025.

This method ensured reliable identification of AI-generated reviews, supporting a deeper analysis of trends in Canadian online banking.