Intuit, the maker of QuickBooks, recently announced an AI tool called Intuit Assist that will be rolling out to U.S. customers in the next few months. According to Intuit, the chatbot digital assistant will have the ability to make life easier for QuickBooks users in a variety of ways, including:
- Identifying cash flow hot spots
- Drafting invoice reminders to customers
- Pinpointing top-selling products and spending anomalies
- Answering fairly basic user requests, such as “how many of my invoices are overdue?”
We at SBS Accounting think that Intuit Assist is an exciting development, and like ChatGPT which you’ve probably heard about, is another example of how AI is beginning to change our daily lives.
There are definitely tasks that Intuit Assist can now do for you and some other things that it just makes simpler than before. And as with any software, the more you know about its features and tools, the more productive you’ll be using it.
That said, Intuit Assist does have limitations. For example, it purports to offer insight around cash flow. But it can only examine the data in its system and offer simplistic advice. It cannot take into account the internal and external factors impacting your specific company.
Furthermore, it doesn’t have the depth of experience and knowledge that is required to answer a complex question like, “I’m facing a real shortage of cash in a few months if I don’t make some changes. What should I do?”
You also shouldn’t expect it to know the nuances of your business and give you high level advisory services.
Another issue with this type of AI is that you must know what questions to ask it, and sometimes that can be the hardest part of the equation.
So, while is it important to have realistic expectations, make no mistake that Intuit Assist is a great tool and you should take advantage of it once it becomes available. Additionally, we expect future versions of Intuit Assist to become even more powerful than v 1.0.
If you have questions about how to leverage Intuit AI to help you in your daily QuickBooks operations, let us know. Just contact us at info@sbsaccountants.com or 770-284-5537.