How GenAI-powered Just Ask Xero will reimagine accounting

It was so exciting to demonstrate Just Ask Xero (JAX) live in front of an enthusiastic crowd of accountants and bookkeepers at Xerocon London today. We previewed this innovative new product at our Investor Day earlier this year, and we’re really proud to be able to show a live demo only a few short months later.

JAX, your smart business companion, available in beta in August this year, will help you and your clients run your businesses more efficiently. You’ll be able to Just Ask Xero to complete tasks such as generating an invoice or editing a quote right from the apps and devices you commonly use. 

This development is going to fundamentally change the way you and your clients complete routine business tasks on the go, as they can now be done  outside of Xero. You won’t have to open up Xero to complete tasks like generating an invoice – just send an instruction to JAX via text message, WhatsApp message or email. Watch a demo of JAX below:

And, in the future, we see many more possibilities of how JAX can help you and your clients with your workflows. Watch this space!

Groundbreaking technology boosting accuracy under the hood of Xero

Until now, using generative AI (GenAI) for accounting tasks has been challenging due to how  LLMs (the large language models that power this technology) work. 

We’ve all heard horror stories about what GenAI can create without the appropriate guardrails in place. Factual errors called ‘hallucinations’ that users have reported include historical inaccuracies, incorrect technical information, incorrect or offensive cultural references – or in the case of AI-generated images, anatomical errors, distorted faces and bodies or nonsensical object details. 

We know that in accounting, there’s just no room for this kind of hallucination. Ensuring that the numbers you’re working with are accurate is essential, so we’ve invested heavily in building technology that you can trust. 

I announced today that our internal teams at Xero have made an exciting breakthrough in developing a first-of-its kind technology that works under the hood, to ensure that JAX offers far greater accuracy than other AI models that only rely on LLMs.

This proprietary technology helps JAX navigate accounting tasks with precision, by using a control system to ensure the data that’s fed to the LLMs is only related to the relevant task, such as creating an invoice. It also ensures the LLMs only receive data that you’ve given Xero permission to access, and keeps the data safely within the platform.

These guardrails ensure Xero customers using JAX for accounting tasks can trust its precision and accuracy. We think these guardrails will be really effective and will give us the ability to truly reimagine accounting for you and your clients. 

We can’t wait for some of you and your clients to get a taste of JAX when it launches in beta in August. 

GenAI-driven improvements in Xero support

At Xerocon today, I also touched on some other exciting developments Xero has made in the GenAI space. 

In May, we embedded new GenAI-powered help content inside the Xero product to surface accurate answers, faster. Now, users who are working in Xero and ask for help will get a fast, simple, AI-generated answer alongside a list of other relevant content articles. The answer takes into account the page they’re viewing and the version of Xero they use to ensure the surfaced information is relevant. 

This development followed our launch late last year of generated answers in Xero Central, our customer support and learning site, which has reduced search times by approximately 40%. 

We’ve also rolled out an AI-powered setup guide for those onboarding to Xero, providing all new users with relevant answers and information as they set up their Xero dashboard and get started in the product.  

Supporting you and your clients to adapt GenAI

At Xero, we’re really excited about the possibilities these new AI developments will open up for you and your clients, but adapting to new tools – even if they’ll make life easier – can be difficult or confusing. Established ways of working and habits can be hard to break. Plus, it can be hard to get excited about the benefits of GenAI if you don’t really understand it.

So, to help you and your clients embrace AI and understand the benefits of these new tools, we’ve published two simple AI guides, tailored to small businesses and their advisors.

These guides summarise relevant AI updates, offer practical ways to start implementing some AI-powered tools in your business, and showcase some small businesses and advisors already using AI effectively in their business. We hope these guides help to provide some inspiration in taking the first step towards exploring using AI in your practice and encouraging your clients to do the same.

Looking ahead

I’m excited about the developments we’ve made in GenAI over the last year, and we’re just getting started. As GenAI continues to evolve, the possibilities it brings in terms of efficiency, innovation, and competitive advantage to businesses that embrace it are vast. I hope you’ll come along for the ride with us.

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Source: Xero Blog