Xero has announced plans to use AI to help transform accounting for small businesses by removing some of the barriers and making it easier for less savvy business owners to nail their figures. Central to the announcement is ‘Just Ask Xero’ (JAX), which unsurprisingly uses generative AI to help both business owners and their advisors when it comes to completing accounting tasks. In order to extend the reach of its AI, Xero has announced plans to use conversational interfaces across the likes of mobile, email, and WhatsApp. The company’s platform aims to automate some of the more repetitive accounting tasks, helping to improve efficiency and give business owners some time back to spend where it matters. Like other tools that we have become familiar with, Xero’s JAX is set to have a conversational interface with natural language processing. Some key areas where it could help include generating invoices, editing quotes, and paying bills.