The Sage Roadmap to AI - Part 1

While attending the Sage Conference in Atlanta in early June, there was considerable talk about their roadmap for AI, especially as it relates to Sage Intacct and Sage X3.  I had the opportunity to visit with Rob Sinfield, Sr. VP of ERP at Sage, about their Roadmap to AI. 

When it comes to differentiating their approach to AI from their competitors, Sage's AI strategy is deeply rooted in their overall mission to serve small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). Unlike many of their competitors who generalize AI capabilities, Sage is emphasizing vertical-specific intelligence and real-world use cases tailored to SMB workflows with a focus on practicality, trust, and long-term value.  This includes automating invoice management, payment tracking, and strategic insights through tools like Sage Copilot.  

Sage believes that AI is evolving in three waves, and they are building for each wave to deliver value to the SMB customers.  The first wave is focused on task-based automation like flagging anomalies or classifying transactions. The second wave, which is currently underway, is generative AI-based, which is exemplified in Sage Copilot. Generative AI-based tools enable users to speed up their processes, like period-end, as well as provide key insights concerning the current and future status of a business. The second wave is Agentic AI, in which the systems understand the context to coordinate tasks and eventually act autonomously.  Sage is approaching Agentic AI in a phased, transparent manner, keeping the user in control while unlocking faster, more thoughtful decision-making. 

Sage Copilot is the perfect example of this approach.  It is constantly evolving to provide enhanced capabilities to users across all of the Sage platforms. Sage Copilot was recently expanded to include Sage 50, Sage Accounting, Sage Intacct, Sage X3, and Sage for Accountants. For example, in Sage Intacct, Copilot is providing 'variance analysis' designed to streamline a user's analysis of their finances before providing automation of the period-end close process. This is just one example of how Sage is providing practical AI that simplifies accounting workflows in invoicing, reconciliation, anomaly detection, and proactive cash flow management. 

The roadmap for Sage Copilot will focus on real-time intelligence, automation, and personalization to meet the evolving needs of modern finance and operational teams. Soon, Sage Copilot will be helping businesses migrate from reactive to proactive decision-making, which will transform businesses in today's rapidly changing economy.

 Insightful Accountant will have more about the Sage Roadmap for AI, specifically as it is impacting ERP in an upcoming feature in this mini-series.

Disclosures
Content within this article was developed from interview content with Sage officials during Sage Future. Additional content, including graphic illustrations, has been adapted from source materials provided by Sage (USA). Referenced source materials and content appearing within this Insightful Accountant feature are used with permission and are provided solely for educational and informational purposes.
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