Intuit is using generative artificial intelligence (AI) to help small businesses make decisions.
The company, owner of TurboTax, Credit Karma and Quickbooks, debuted Intuit Assist, an AI-powered tool for its small business customers, according to a Wednesday (Sept. 6) press release.
“Embedded across Intuit’s platform and products with a common user interface, Intuit Assist will put the power of next-generation AI in the hands of customers,” the release said. “Intuit Assist uses powerful and relevant contextual data sets spanning small business, consumer finance and tax to deliver personalized financial insights to our 100 million small business and consumer customers.”
For example, the tool can help TurboTax users by creating a tailored tax checklist based on data the customer shares for quicker answers and insights, according to the release.
When users ask Credit Karma a question on managing their finances, “they aren’t met with a generic response,” the release added. “Instead, Intuit Assist will be able to connect the dots for members and provide personalized assistance based on their own financial data.”
The launch of Intuit Assist is as small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are feeling increasingly pinched.
PYMNTS Intelligence found that 57% of SMBs have funding, although only enough to operate for 60 days or less, which highlights the need for new paths to financing.
“While it stands to reason that smaller SMBs are facing this dire situation — as 62% of SMBs with annual revenues of less than $150,000 do, 40% of SMBs that generate between $1 million and $10 million in annual revenue have no readily available financing options that they might need to stay afloat if there were a sudden drop in sales,” PYMNTS wrote in April.
This suggests there is a large and still untapped need for financing options to help offset potential cash flow shortfalls. In the absence of a line of credit or another source of income, 40% of the businesses surveyed by PYMNTS said they can use business cards to cover cash flow issues.
The study also found that the share of companies using business loans from online lenders, working capital loans from banks, and unsecured business loans was up 24%, on average, compared to 2022.
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