When artificial intelligence (AI) was first introduced into the workplace, it was quickly embraced by big businesses. AI seemed as if it were created just for them—complex, costly, and out of reach for most small business owners.
Most enterprise companies that initially adopted AI used it for a single purpose. But a recent McKinsey report, The state of AI in 2025: Agents, innovation, and transformation, shows “the use of AI overall is broadening within organizations.” Once they realized AI’s usefulness, over two-thirds of respondents to a McKinsey survey say their companies are using AI in more than one function, and half report using AI in three or more functions.
But McKinsey also reports that smaller businesses “have yet to integrate AI deeply across their workflows.” That’s not surprising, since for decades small businesses have struggled to match the speed and efficiency of larger businesses.
But that gap is closing fast. A recent report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce noted that 84% of small businesses plan to increase their use of technology platforms, and 96% of small business owners plan to adopt emerging technologies, including AI. And thanks to smarter, more accessible technology, tools once reserved for big corporations are now within reach for Main Street owners.
A prime example is BILL, which has introduced new AI-powered tools designed specifically to help small businesses save time, improve accuracy, and make more informed decisions — without needing a tech department to run them.
BILL understood that too many SMBs were still working with manual workflows. It reports that over 90% of businesses say collecting W-9s is the most painful part of doing taxes, and many spend too much time on expense management. These inefficiencies force leaders to trade off running the back office and growing their business.
So, to help eliminate these workflows and free teams to focus on growth and serving their customers, BILL CEO and founder, René Lacerte, says BILL is introducing tools to “close the gap between the Fortune 500 and the Fortune 5 Million,” because the SMBs that “drive our communities and national economy” don’t have the tools and teams to win like their larger counterparts do. [I have to admit I love calling America’s SMBs, the Fortune 5 Million.]
Lacerte says BILL’s been using AI for years, and it’s “launching BILL AI agents to give SMBs the tools and teams they need to compete and win.” The first agents and agentic-powered features will “autonomously collect and validate W-9s, reconcile receipts, accelerate user onboarding, and execute routine tasks, removing the friction that slows businesses down.”
Stopping Fraud
BILL’s AI has been tested and has already helped accelerate billions in payments and processed more than 1.3 billion documents. From the beginning of 2025 to now, BILL’s AI solutions have increased fully automated bills by more than 80% and stopped 8 million fraud attempts.
Meet the AI Agents
What do BILL’s AI Agents do?
BILL W-9 Agent
This tool is the first in the industry. It automatically requests, collects, and pre-validates W-9s—making the thing no business wants to touch, truly touchless.
Touchless tax compliance eliminates over 80% of the manual steps required to collect W-9s. This first-of-its-kind agent autonomously requests and pre-validates W-9s from vendors. It can erase most of the work associated with collecting up to 3 million W-9s, saving BILL customers an estimated 650,000 hours.
BILL Reconciliation Agent
A touchless receipts agent is planned that automatically codes transactions, so receipts reconcile themselves. This agent will provide full visibility into expenses, helping finance teams stay organized and compliant.
In early rollout, transactions processed entirely by AI increased by 533% while maintaining 92% accuracy. BILL’s “ultimate goal” is to make all receipts “touchless.”
Onboarding Assistance
BILL is planning to automate user onboarding for its Spend & Expense tool and use agentic capabilities to tailor it to each business. This new feature will automatically create virtual cards and permissions, ensuring every employee can start spending compliantly from day one.
This is onboarding without the onboarding. A setup that happens behind the scenes, so new users can focus on their jobs, not their tools. Lacerte says, “When we talk about removing friction, this is what we mean. The moment someone joins your company, they’re ready to spend, operate, and contribute.”
BILL Assistant
This new agentic-powered assistant provides personalized, instant answers, intelligent recommendations, and can complete tasks for BILL customers—so SMBs can spend less time managing the back office and more time growing their businesses.
AI That Removes Limitations for SMBs
Big businesses have long had an advantage in the AI space. Lacerte maintains that because SMBs haven’t had access to the same capabilities as big businesses, “Every day is a trade-off between speed and control; serving customers and staying on top of the books; moving forward and catching up.”
And he adds, “Automation was supposed to fix that. But digitizing a manual workflow is not the same as deleting it. That’s where BILL AI comes in.” And it’s not just standard AI. Lacerte says, “SMBs don’t need more AI. They need better AI built specifically for their needs. Too many companies are racing to pile on features. More dashboards, more chatbots, more noise. But “more” isn’t how we define progress. True innovation isn’t about adding layers—it’s about removing limitations.”
Less Is More
Lacerte says, “Businesses don’t need more tools or more hype. They need less. Less work, less friction, less noise—so they can focus on what really matters: growing and winning. Web apps digitized manual workflows. Agents, when built well, get rid of them.”
“Think,” he adds. “A world where business operations run themselves, while people stay in control. Receipts reconcile themselves. Expenses are completed autonomously. Users onboard seamlessly. Books balance automatically. Payments are delivered securely and efficiently. The ability to scale capability without increasing headcount. Autonomous finance that drives at the speed of business with accuracy, reliability, and security.”
The Bigger Picture
BILL’s move is part of a larger trend: AI adoption among small businesses is accelerating as tools become more accessible and intuitive. From marketing to customer service, AI innovations are giving small businesses enterprise-grade power—without enterprise-level costs or complexity.
Investing in AI tools pays off. According to the McKinsey report, “Revenue increases resulting from AI use are most commonly reported in use cases within marketing and sales, strategy and corporate finance, and product and service development.”
Building for the Future
“The future is touchless,” Lacerte proclaims. And there’s more—much more—to come. He adds, “This is just the beginning. Next up: touchless travel, touchless email replies, touchless AP coding, and more. Every BILL AI agent is being built and trained to remove friction, save time, and unlock opportunity.”
For small businesses, the AI revolution isn’t about replacing people—it’s about reclaiming time and unlocking opportunity. Tools like BILL’s help SMBs do what they do best: run their businesses with confidence, agility, and the same sophistication as much larger competitors.
And BILL is AI that works for SMBs—not just with them. As Lacerte says, “The future of fintech isn’t about faster workflows. It’s about making work disappear. And for the Fortune 5 Million, that future starts now.
In partnership with BILL
Rieva Lesonsky is President of Small Business Currents, a content company focusing on small businesses and entrepreneurship. You can find her on Twitter @Rieva, Bluesky @Rieva.bsky.social, and LinkedIn. Or email her at Rieva@SmallBusinessCurrents.com.
Photo courtesy Getty Images for Unsplash+
