Xero announces generative AI solutions as part of wider AI product rollout

business solution provider G A new generative artificial intelligence solution is being developed called Just ask Xero or JAX, as part of the company’s overall vision for how artificial intelligence will transform small businesses in the future.

JAX, which was demonstrated at the company’s first investor day, aims to be an “artificial intelligence business partner” that can help business owners with daily tasks such as editing quotes to include new deliverables, managing bill payments, generating invoices, and communicating with customers communicate. This can be done in Xero or other common applications and interfaces such as mobile devices, WhatsApp and email. JAX not only completes the task, but also anticipates other tasks that may occur later, such as sending an email to follow up on a late payment. It will also provide personalized insights on demand, such as cash flow forecasts. A JAX beta will be available later this year.

The company also announced AI-driven enhancements to existing products. A new AI assistant in Xero can help onboard new customers by providing them with relevant answers and information as they set up their dashboard and start using the product. In the future, Xero plans to integrate AI assistants into the JAX experience to further simplify the onboarding and troubleshooting experience.

Xero has also embedded generative artificial intelligence tools in Xero Central to deliver the answers customers need in conversational language. Since doing so, Xero’s average customer search time has decreased by 40%, and search sessions requiring additional customer service support have decreased by approximately 20%.

The announcements are part of the company’s big push into artificial intelligence. To help realize its AI vision, the company also said it has named two senior U.S. employees — Eitan Sharon as senior vice president of data and science and Akankshu Dhawan as senior vice president of direct, growth and artificial intelligence products. Sharon has spent the past four years as Director of Applied Science at Amazon, where she focused on developing strategies to disrupt the product development process. Dhawan most recently oversaw Uber’s Earner, artificial intelligence and data products.

“Technology has dramatically changed life for small businesses, first with cloud accounting, then with automation, and now with GenAI,” said Diya Jolly, chief product officer at Xero. “We are embracing this new wave of technology innovation. Responsibly, customer-centric and realizing our vision of becoming the most trustworthy and insightful platform for small businesses. ”