Top Trends You Need to Watch in AI in Finance
From missed payments to manual reconciliations, the accounts receivable process hasn’t exactly been known for speed or simplicity.
However, that is rapidly changing.
As AI in finance has become increasingly popular in the financial industry, companies are replacing complex spreadsheets and generic reminders with AI automation that anticipates and customizes each stage of the process.
These automations are making collections smarter, more seamless, and much more efficient, whether it's matching payments in a matter of seconds or sending encouraging reminders before an invoice is even due.
We'll look at the main trends that are changing the A/R landscape in this blog and show you where to begin if you're prepared for growth.
What’s New in AI in Finance?
Finance teams are now using AI automation to do everyday tasks faster and with fewer mistakes. Things like sending reminders, matching payments, or talking to customers don’t need to be done manually anymore.
With tools that can anticipate, write messages, and help customers help themselves, AI is making the entire payment and collections process smoother and less stressful.
Here's how it's changing:
1. AI-Powered Invoice Processing & Matching
Modern finance teams are moving beyond manual invoice entry and toward intelligent systems that do the heavy lifting.
AI-powered invoice processing uses OCR, NLP, and machine learning to automatically capture, interpret, and validate invoice data, with no templates or human input needed.
It can read line items, match invoices to POs, and flag discrepancies in seconds. As a result, businesses are eliminating delays, reducing human error, and streamlining approvals.
In addition to speeding up workflow, this automation reduces stress and helps teams work more efficiently throughout the accounts receivable process.
What makes it so useful:
Processes invoices in seconds, slashing cycle times by up to 80%
Achieves over 98% extraction accuracy and flags mismatches instantly
Reduces processing cost from $10–$15 to under $2 per invoice
Easily adapts to different formats, layouts, and volumes
With fewer errors and faster approvals, finance teams can focus more on strategic analysis than data entry.
It’s a smarter, faster way to handle high volumes, without scaling headcount.
2. Predictive Analytics & Risk Scoring
Predictive analytics is one of the most practical uses of AI in finance today. It uses AI to look at past customer behavior, payment history, and external signals to guess which invoices might be paid late or might never be paid at all.
This trend moves AR from a reactive function (chasing overdue bills) to a proactive one (preventing delays before they happen).
By knowing who is likely to pay late, finance teams can allocate efforts more efficiently and reduce financial risk.
For example:
A B2B industrial supply company integrated predictive analytics into its AR workflow. The AI system reviewed historical payment trends, order frequency, and seasonal demand fluctuations to score each customer by risk level. High-risk clients were flagged early and automatically routed to the collections team for faster follow-up. Meanwhile, low-risk clients received light-touch, automated reminders.
That is how, with these tools, AR teams reduce serious delinquencies by up to 25% and improve recovery rates by 20–25%.
3. Proactive, Personalized Collections & Dunning
In traditional finance workflows, collections often feel like an afterthought. Teams send the same generic reminder to everyone, days or even weeks after an invoice is overdue. It’s reactive, manual, and usually ineffective.
Now, instead of sending templated emails to everyone at once, finance teams can use AI to strategically tailor follow-ups based on each customer’s behavior and payment patterns.
Here’s the comparison:
3. Generative AI for Communication
Generative AI helps finance teams write messages quickly and clearly. Whether it's sending a payment reminder, answering a customer’s question, or following up on an overdue invoice, AI can create the message in seconds.
It sounds professional and polite, as if you are personally taking the follow-up. It also adjusts the tone based on the situation, so the message can be friendly, firm, or helpful depending on what’s needed.
This makes it easier for the businesses to talk to the customers even in the worst scenarios.
Generative AI keeps communication fast, consistent, and more personal—even when you’re sending hundreds of messages.
Teams don’t have to spend hours writing replies or updates. Instead, they can focus on solving problems or helping with more complex tasks.
4. Cash Application & Payment Matching Automation
Traditionally, finance teams had to go through each payment manually, comparing bank statements, emails, and spreadsheets to figure out which invoice a payment was meant for.
The process became even more complicated when customers didn’t include clear references or paid multiple invoices in a single transfer.
This often led to delays, mismatches, and a month-end scramble to reconcile accounts.
Here’s how AI automation has simplified this:
Pulls real-time payment data from bank accounts and remittance sources
Understands and interprets vague or incomplete references using AI
Automatically matches payments to one or multiple invoices
Handles partial payments, discounts, overpayments, and different currencies
Flags exceptions (like mismatches or missing details) for review
Instantly updates your books and ERP system with accurate records
By automating this workflow, finance teams save hours every week, reduce human errors, and gain clearer visibility into their cash position without the manual mess.
5. Integrated Self-Service & Customer Experience Platforms
Customers today want quick and easy ways to manage their payments, just like they do with online shopping or banking.
But in many businesses, the process is still slow. Customers have to email for invoice copies, wait for payment links, or go back and forth with the finance team for basic help.
It saves time for both sides and gives customers more control, making the whole experience smoother and more professional.
Where to Begin
1. Start by Auditing Your A/R Bottlenecks
Begin by identifying where delays, errors, or manual effort are slowing down your accounts receivable process. Look closely at stages like invoice follow-ups, payment matching, and dispute handling. Understanding these gaps helps you figure out where automation and AI can save time and improve cash flow.
2. Try Automating Past-Due Follow-Ups
Instead of sending reminders manually, set up an automated system that handles follow-ups across email, SMS, or calls. Smart workflows can adjust the tone, timing, and frequency of reminders based on customer behavior, making the process more efficient and less intrusive, while improving payment recovery rates.
3. Tap into Predictive Payment Behavior
Use AI to analyze past customer payment patterns and predict who’s likely to delay payment. With this insight, you can prioritize outreach, personalize communication, and plan your cash flow better, long before a payment is actually missed.
4. Streamline Cash Application Workflows
Manually matching payments to invoices can slow everything down. Automating this step allows payments from bank feeds or remittance advice to be matched to the correct invoices, handling even partial payments or currency differences with ease. This means faster reconciliation and cleaner books.
5. Make It Easier for Customers to Pay
Offer a self-service portal where customers can view invoices, make payments, raise disputes, or request payment plans—all in one place. This not only gives them convenience and control but also reduces the number of support requests your team needs to handle.
6. Track Outcomes and Keep Improving
With the right reporting tools in place, you can see exactly how automation is impacting your collections and even track things like time saved, DSO improvements, and recovery rates. These insights help you refine your strategy and show clear ROI over time.
7. Think Long-Term, Not Just Transactional
Modern A/R isn’t just about collecting payments; it’s about building a process that scales as your business grows. With AI, automation, and predictive tools, your finance team can focus on strategy instead of repetitive tasks, while customers enjoy a more professional and seamless payment experience.
Start Now with the Right Tools
AI in finance isn’t just about cutting-edge tech; it’s about making life easier for both your team and your clients.
With the right systems in place, you can spend less time chasing payments and more time focusing on growing your business.
You're not the only person who thinks, "This sounds fantastic, but where do I even begin?"
Fortunately, you don't have to figure it out yourself.
There are smart platforms available that are made to automate follow-ups, collections, and all procedures in between.
Start small, stay consistent, and let automation do the tedious yet important tasks.
