I asked ChatGPT to name the UK’s top dividend stocks – they picked the 5 highest yielders.

After spending hours sifting FTSE 100 in order to find the best dividend stocks in Britain, I decided to call in artificial help.

I was eager to see what artificial intelligence ChatGPT would come up with, but I was naturally skeptical. Can’t it just pick the top five crops and be done with it?

I don’t know its algorithms but apparently it’s more complicated than that. Although I wouldn’t describe any of its choices as a surprise. They are all big green chips with great yields. So what passive income faves has my new ‘bot pal come up with?

Are these the best income shares in the UK?

Well I dropped it down with an artificial feather but a cigarette maker British American cigars he was on the list. I just finished writing an article highlighting its excellent yield of 7.95%.

This is not the end as ChatGPT pointed out: “The company has a history of paying consistent dividends, which makes it attractive to cash-oriented investors.”

British American Tobacco has survived the tobacco onslaught by building market share, diversifying its products and pursuing smoke-free alternatives. Even its shares are up, up 25% over the past year. I really can’t argue with this.

It’s impossible to argue with the following robot buddy dividend picks: HSBC Holdings (LSE: HSBA). I don’t have a bank that focuses on Asia, but it’s high on my Buy list if I have some money.

ChatGPT says: “As one of the largest banking institutions in the world, it has a history of regular dividend distributions.”

The current yield is 6.26% while HSBC’s share price has risen 22% over the past year. However, it is still cheap, trading at only 8.42 times earnings.

HSBC has challenges. It is listed in London but generates most of its profits in Asia, embroiled in the US-China trade war. It’s hard to see how that will play out as President-elect Donald Trump talks about taxes. New CEO Georges Elhedery responds by splitting the group into Eastern and Western units.

I think it’s an excellent income stock

HSBC also satisfied investors by buying shares. They reached £7bn in the full financial year 2023. Good job, ChatGPT.

It also nominated the mining giant Rio Tintowith a massive trailing yield of 7.43%, though as my AI chum warned: “Dividend payouts can be influenced by asset price fluctuations.”

How true it is. I have suffered at the hands of Glencore recently, so I won’t buy Rio Tinto. It’s still a top dividend though and cheap at 8.03 times earnings.

I also won’t buy its next proposition, the energy giant A shellbut that’s because I caught a rival BP. Shell’s yield is relatively small at 4.6% but it has also been active through share buybacks.

One of the chatbots I’ve caught Legal and General Group. It has a gross yield of 9.29%. So it turns out that I’m the one chasing the high yield, not the AI. Maybe my algorithms need to be reset.

ChatGPT is Legal & General “known for its consistent dividend payments”. I might add that it is also known for its underperforming share price, but hopefully that will change.

While I can’t fault ChatGPT’s stock selection, I still have my doubts about its selection process. But I would happily buy any five of these FTSE 100 heroes today.