Interactive Brokers Gives AI Tools Authority to Trade on Clients’ Behalf

Interactive Brokers has rolled out a feature that lets eligible clients give connected artificial intelligence platforms permission to hunt for trading opportunities and send supported orders to the market without each trade being individually approved. The brokerage announced IBKR Autonomous Trading on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, extending a series of AI integrations it has been building through the year.

The capability spans more than 75,000 listed stocks, options and exchange-traded funds worldwide. Clients describe their instructions in natural language and define the conditions under which the linked AI systems are permitted to act. The systems connect to accounts through the Model Context Protocol, the same channel Interactive Brokers already uses to link ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and Perplexity without requiring clients to hand over API keys or passwords.

Rules, partitions and funding

Autonomous Trading runs inside a dedicated AI Partition carved out of an existing account. Clients fund that partition by moving cash from their main account, so no separate account opening or external deposit is needed. Interactive Brokers said the AI operates strictly inside client-defined instructions and remains subject to account restrictions and safeguards intended to contain risk.

Among the conditions clients can set are monitoring of implied volatility, review of positions that drop below a specified price, and trimming of holdings that breach portfolio allocation limits. Clients can also instruct the AI to sell 30-day covered calls once a holding's implied volatility reaches the 90th percentile of its range over the preceding 52 weeks. All actions remain bound by supported order types and account restrictions.

The launch follows the broker's June integration with Claude, which allowed clients to analyse portfolios and generate trading instructions for review, and its subsequent connections to ChatGPT, Grok and other tools. Interactive Brokers also offers AI Screeners, Investment Themes and Connections products.

Milan Galik, Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Brokers, said the new feature extends the firm's existing use of automation. "IBKR Autonomous Trading builds on that approach, allowing clients to define their trading strategies and safeguards while connected AI monitors markets and executes trades within those parameters," he said.

Availability depends on country, regulatory and account eligibility, and is subject to funding and other limits that the company said may change over time.