The news: Small businesses that use QuickBooks and Mailchimp can now delegate tasks like cash flow management, invoice tracking, payroll, and marketing campaign analytics to Perplexity Computer’s agents, per a press release.

This follows Intuit’s tie-ups with ChatGPT and Claude for invoicing, payroll, and lending.

How it works: While AI chatbots respond to users’ prompts similarly to traditional search, agents go one step further, taking over tasks through optimal models for each prompt—pushing beyond personalized recommendations to real business action. 

Why this matters: Enterprises are getting access to AI tools that automate more of their back-office tasks. Providers that integrate with agentic platforms can now give valuable time back to SMB owners and managers by taking care of critical busywork: 48% of SMBs report saving at least 4 hours of time using AI tools, per Bluevine’s SMB survey. 

Assistance from AI agents can also help SMBs improve cash flow and reduce follow-ups for invoices.

• 59% of SMBs experience late payments at least occasionally, per a separate Bluevine survey.
• 28% have $5,000 or more worth of unpaid invoices at any given point of time.
• And 18% of SMBs say their biggest challenge with past-due payments is the time it takes to get those invoices paid.

Implications for payment providers: SMBs recognize that agentic payment advances can improve their commercial experiences, but providers still need to win over businesses’ trust when it comes to letting a bot take action independently.

To increase SMB owners’ trust in these tools, payment providers have to demonstrate their AI integrations have safeguards built into their systems, like requiring approval for autonomous actions through push notifications sent to SMBs devices and opt-in features for price limits and other controls.

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