How to Use ChatGPT for Faster Investment Screening
In this article, you’ll learn:
How to use ChatGPT for investment screening and streamline early-stage deal evaluation.
Step-by-step AI prompts for analysts to improve deal sourcing and identify red flags.
Common AI pitfalls in financial due diligence and how to avoid them.
In investment work, timing and clarity are everything. Screening deals quickly—without missing red flags or opportunities—is a core skill for analysts, partners, and anyone involved in evaluating companies. Yet the volume of material we’re expected to review keeps growing: teasers, decks, one-pagers, founder emails, and financial models.
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT can offer a significant edge here—if used intentionally. With the right setup, AI doesn’t just summarize documents. It helps you ask better questions, surface decision-critical information, and adapt your evaluation to your firm’s specific investment thesis.
This article shows how to use ChatGPT to support the early stages of the investment process—especially deal screening—and how to avoid common pitfalls.
The Problem with Traditional Screening
Most investment teasers are designed to impress. They focus on upside, traction, and total addressable market. But screening isn’t about being sold—it’s about answering one question:
Should we spend more time on this or move on?
Doing this well requires:
• A clear sense of what your firm is looking for
• The ability to cut through noise
• Fast, structured decision support
Step-by-Step: Using ChatGPT to Screen Investment Opportunities
Step 1: Upload the Document with Context
Whether it’s a teaser PDF or an internal summary, begin by giving ChatGPT a clear role.
Example prompt:
This is an investment teaser from a company we’re considering. You are an investment analyst. Based on this document, guide me through the decision-making process. Provide a recommendation on whether to explore further, and explain your reasoning.
This shifts ChatGPT from “summarizer” to “advisor.”
Step 2: Refine Based on Your Thesis
Generic recommendations aren’t helpful. Add your firm’s investment focus.
We only invest in mid-cap, high-growth food and retail brands in Europe. We avoid capex-heavy business models and look for strong unit economics from day one. How does this change your recommendation?
This helps align the output with your actual screening logic.
Step 3: Scrutinize the Source
Even when the recommendation makes sense, you need to verify the claims.
Ask:
• Where in the document is this assumption stated?
• Can you quote the specific line or section that supports this projection?
• What information is missing that would typically be included at this stage?
This transforms ChatGPT from a confident assistant into a careful co-reviewer.
Bonus Prompts to Try
• Summarize this teaser in under 150 words. Highlight red flags.
• What’s the core business model here? Break it down in one sentence.
• What would a skeptical partner challenge in this pitch?
• Which metrics are mentioned, and which are conspicuously absent?
• Suggest 3 follow-up questions to ask the founders.
Why This Works
This approach doesn’t automate decisions. It accelerates insight. You spend less time extracting surface-level facts and more time thinking critically about what matters. You can also:
• Maintain a consistent screening process
• Document rationale faster
• Save time across the deal team
Things to Watch Out For
• Hallucinations: Always double-check references to source material.
• Overconfidence: The AI will provide answers, even when key data is missing.
• Misalignment: If you don’t specify your investment focus, the output may be too generic.
Final Thought
In the earliest stages of deal evaluation, speed and structure give you an edge. ChatGPT, when prompted well, can help you move from raw material to clear recommendation—in minutes, not hours.
It’s not about replacing analysts. It’s about freeing them to think.
If your team screens investment opportunities regularly and wants to use AI to sharpen workflows, improve decision quality, and move faster—book an intro call. I’ll show you how to build prompts, processes, and habits that make ChatGPT a reliable part of your toolkit.
