Meet the AI agents helping small businesses do more with less

Running a small business has always involved juggling, but the number of manual tasks owners manage has surged in recent years. Chasing unpaid invoices, tracking GST, preparing BAS, reconciling accounts, responding to customer enquiries — and the list just keeps on growing. Owners are increasingly spending more time navigating systems than doing what they love most, serving customers or planning for growth.

This is why the latest generation of AI tools is attracting attention. It is not about novelty. It is about helping business owners reclaim time and reduce the operational load that slows them down.

“The tech to free-up businesses is available today,” says founder of Work Futurist, Dominic Price. “Business owners just need to experiment with it and have a ‘big growth’ mindset.”

“The Accounting Agent can complete a business analysis in a few hours instead of two days of manual work,” says Tish Bhagwandeen, founder and director of Infinance Solutions.Credit: iStock

Intuit’s new virtual team of AI agents in QuickBooks has been developed with that goal in mind. According to Intuit’s The Growth Gap report, Australian small and mid-sized businesses lose an average of $209,000* in unrealised revenue each year because of inefficiencies, manual processes and missed opportunities. That’s roughly $35 billion* across the economy not being captured.

The new agents operate within an integrated platform and support five essential areas of business activity: accounting, finance, GST, lead management and project workflows. Each agent handles tasks within its area of expertise and works alongside the others to reduce friction, maintain accuracy and keep the business moving.

“Australian small businesses use between six and nine* disconnected tools just to manage basic financial workflows. Owners lose the equivalent of two full workdays each month to manual data entry, inbox triage, chasing information and fixing discrepancies.”

Suzy Nicoletti, regional vice president, APAC, Intuit

The aim is to reduce the 48 per cent* of potential growth that disappears into administrative overload and give business owners back the time and headspace they need to focus on the future.

As a result, execution becomes faster, compliance more accurate and day-to-day decisions clearer. In short, the agents take on the repetitive work so people can focus on the parts of the business only they can lead.

“The Accounting Agent can complete a business analysis in a few hours instead of two days of manual work,” says Tish Bhagwandeen, founder and director of Infinance Solutions. “This frees me up to have more balance, grow the business and think more strategically.”

The Finance Agent brings cash flow, profit and loss, and financial trends together in real time. If income changes or expenses spike, it identifies the likely source. It functions like a lightweight analyst, offering quick insights without the usual spreadsheet work. Credit: iStock

So how do AI agents work?

AI agents differ from traditional AI tools because they can complete tasks from beginning to end. They prepare work, surface insights and finish activities that normally require several steps, all within the owner’s review and approval.

What do Intuit’s virtual team of AI agents do – and how will this help small and medium businesses?

Here’s a snapshot:

The Accounting Agent: cleaner books with less effort

Instead of spending hours sorting through transactions at the end of the quarter, the Accounting Agent works with the customer to accurately categorise transactions. It also identifies potential anomalies in your financial reports and guides you on how to fix them, while keeping you in control of deciding whether to take action.

The Customer Agent: organised sales and faster responses

This agent searches the inbox for sales enquiries, prioritises high-value opportunities and drafts responses that can be edited or approved by the business owner. For service-based businesses, where timely responses matter, this reduces the administrative delay that often slows sales.

For service businesses that rely on project-based work, The Project Management Agent sets up new projects automatically, pre-populating client information, dates and custom fields.Credit: iStock

The Finance Agent: a clearer view of performance

The Finance Agent brings cash flow, profit and loss, and financial trends together in real time. If income changes or expenses spike, it identifies the likely source. It functions like a lightweight analyst, offering quick insights without the usual spreadsheet work.

The GST AI Agent: compliance made easier

This agent, available now in Beta, reconciles GST against income and highlights mismatches early. It also suggests likely causes and next steps, helping owners avoid last-minute stress at BAS time.

The Project Management Agent (available in Advanced): faster setup for client work

For service businesses that rely on project-based work, this agent sets up new projects automatically. It pre-populates client information, dates and custom fields. This helps them get started quicker.

Together, the agents operate inside one platform rather than across several disconnected apps, creating a more streamlined experience.

Early adopters of AI-driven automation are already saving up to six hours a week*, which is nearly a full workday. More importantly, the shift gives owners the mental clarity to think ahead rather than constantly catching up.

Starting the day with an organised view of what needs action, and what has already been completed, can change how a business operates. With more time to innovate, grow sales, support customers or plan for the future, the impact can be felt well beyond the business.

Learn more at quickbooks.intuit.com/au

*Based on Intuit’s Growth Gap report as of October 2025. Surveys of 1200 small and medium business leaders across each of the UK, AUS and Canada (totalling 3600) were conducted in September 2025. This research is conducted in partnership with Dr Chris Brauer, Director of Innovation, Goldsmiths, University of London between September and October 2025. Dr Brauer’s research team included Research Director Dr Jennifer Barth and a core group of economists, psychologists, data and social scientists from UK-based research firm Symmetry Insights. They used a mixed method approach to build a model and scorecard of the growth gap.

This information is intended to outline our general product direction, but represents no obligation and should not be relied on in making a purchasing decision. Additional terms, conditions and fees may apply. Product offers, features, and functionality are subject to change without notice. Intuit Assist features may differ based on product.

While available in all QuickBooks supported languages, the AI agent’s output will be English only. If your account contains information in other languages, there may be some limitations in the outputs provided by Intuit AI Agents. Localisation for other QuickBooks supported languages will roll out gradually. We recommend you review all outputs carefully.

Finance Agent available on QuickBooks Advanced only. Not available to customers with multi-currency enabled.

Beta features: Beta features have very limited availability and are subject to change. Features may be more broadly available soon.