Knowing which stocks to buy before they surge to record highs can unlock phenomenal wealth for investors. Sadly, finding these opportunities is far easier said than done. And the process can take a lot of time-consuming research before an informed decision can be made.
But with the rise of artificial intelligence and tools like ChatGPT, I decided to have a bit of fun and ask the bot what it thinks are the best stocks to buy right now. And it came up with some… interesting suggestions.
British infrastructure
First on ChatGPT’s list is the energy infrastructure enterprise, SSE (LSE:SSE). The AI believes the company is well positioned to capitalise on the UK transition towards renewables with a substantial mid-cycle investment pipeline that could offer investors both growth as well as income.
Investing in utility stocks is a well-known defensive strategy. After all, sectors like energy infrastructure enjoy constant demand regardless of economic conditions. And that can make these businesses quite resilient during downturns.
However, ChatGPT failed to mention some pretty substantial risks. Being a regulated enterprise, SSE has next to no pricing power. And with its earnings being capped despite rising capital expenditures over the years, the balance sheet has been flooded with debt.
Higher interest expenses combined with flat revenue growth have squeezed margins and sent earnings tumbling. That could soon change if management’s new strategy and growth-focused infrastructure investments prove successful. But dividends have already been slashed once. And if regulatory limits or poor operational execution result in missed targets, SSE shares could be in for a rough ride.
More energy opportunities
ChatGPT seemingly wanted to continue the theme of energy-focused investments, because its second pick for stocks to buy was BP (LSE:BP.).
Again, it highlighted the business for its structural importance to the global economy and its defensive traits as an investment. It even highlighted the firm’s increasing investments in renewable energy projects, allowing the company to benefit from decarbonisation trends.
The only problem is, the AI made no mention of the fact that BP is actually slowing its renewable capex and refocusing the company on fossil fuel projects. Similarly, there was no mention of the company’s high leverage or the fact that the company’s price-to-earnings ratio is a staggering 62.9. For reference, the market average is closer to 15.
To be fair, this business has reported some strong financials lately. In its latest third-quarter trading update, reduced capital expenditures have helped grow profits by 48% from $2.3bn to $3.5bn across the first nine months of 2025. While impressive, that’s still not enough to cover the near-$3.8bn in dividends paid during the period.
The bottom line
Both SSE and BP have some promising potential. But they’re surrounded by significant risks that ChatGPT either overlooked or simply ignored. And personally, I don’t think either of these stocks ranks as a top candidate for further research right now, considering other fantastic buying opportunities to explore. ChatGPT is certainly a fun tool. But at the end of the day, investors seeking the best stocks to buy need to do their own research and rely on human-verified information. Otherwise, they could risk making some costly mistakes.
