The future of growth: Human and AI partnership

British businesses are getting squeezed from every direction. Costs up, margins down and often, time running out. At the same time, households are squeezed by food, housing and transport costs, reducing consumer spending power and increasing pressure on businesses of every size.

For small and medium-sized businesses, speed matters now more than ever. Businesses need instant insights and rapid responses to survive. Technology handles the heavy lifting, processing data, spotting risks, managing compliance, freeing accountants from routine tasks. But the real power comes when technology amplifies human expertise, enabling professionals to focus on judgement, relationships, and strategic guidance.

The partnership principle

Growth used to depend on working harder. Now it depends on working smarter — connecting the dots between people, data and technology. This breakthrough comes from a simple rule: AI proposes, humans approve. Not replacement, but reinforcement. 

Machines handle the heavy lifting while people focus on judgement, strategy and relationships. When reconciliations, reporting and anomaly checks happen automatically, accountants can move upstream into advisory work, business owners can act on live insights and finance leaders can devote more time to planning and performance. 

The evolution I’ve witnessed

At Intuit, we prioritise the partnership between AI and HI - this  principle shapes everything we build. The question isn’t whether AI can do something, it’s whether it should, and how we keep human expertise at the centre. We believe the future of growth will be built on the partnership between human intelligence and artificial intelligence. Human intelligence brings judgement, empathy and strategic vision. AI brings speed, scale and the ability to act across fragmented systems. Together, they transform efficiency from a back-office exercise into the engine of prosperity.

I have seen this evolution firsthand. We began with automation — reducing manual effort and improving accuracy in routine workflows. We moved to predictive AI — surfacing insights, forecasting cash flow and highlighting anomalies. Now we are entering the era of intelligent systems that can plan and act within guardrails. The human remains firmly in control, but the heavy lifting is done for them. This is already working. Businesses are saving hours every month and redirecting the time toward growth.

This shift is about more than technology. It is about creating freedom. For accountants, that means capacity to focus on higher-value advisory work and protect margins. For businesses, it means time to deepen customer relationships and build resilience. For growing companies, it means consolidating systems, shortening close cycles and freeing bandwidth to plan and scale.

The combination of human intelligence and artificial intelligence isn’t optional. It is the foundation for future growth. The urgency for this change is clear. I see accountants and bookkeepers trapped in compliance admin, while finance teams in growing companies are stretched thin and unable to focus on strategy.

By bringing together one connected platform with AI and human expertise, we can eliminate friction, unlock real-time visibility and give leaders the confidence to make faster, better decisions. With strong foundations in place, firms can scale securely, advisers can dedicate more time to higher-value work, and finance leaders can focus their energy on strategy rather than firefighting. 

We are committed to delivering a connected platform powered by responsible AI, working alongside trusted human expertise to give every business the confidence and clarity to thrive.

Growth through partnership

The next phase of progress will not come from automation alone but from a genuine partnership between human intelligence and artificial intelligence. With responsible design and connected systems, leaders can decide faster, reduce risk and turn efficiency into momentum.

This partnership only works when it’s built on trust. Every Intuit AI capability is designed with responsible AI principles at its core. That is the future we are building: one connected platform where AI and human expertise work side by side, so every decision is clearer, every cycle is shorter and every hour is worth more.

Now available to QuickBooks customers, a powerful, proactive team of AI agents and trusted human experts work together across the Intuit platform to handle repetitive tasks, surface insights, and support collaboration between business owners and their accounting professionals.

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The Connected Future: From Agentic AI to automation and beyond UK businesses are slowed down by apps that don’t work well together. AI will solve this problem, changing the business landscape as much as the introduction of the internet did.

Disclaimer: Functionality will vary depending on plans. AI Agents (excl. VAT AI Agent): While available in all QuickBooks supported languages, the AI agent's output are currently in English-only. We recommend you review all outputs carefully. Finance Agent: Not available to customers with multi-currency enabled.

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