Are you ready to use chatbots in your accounting practice?

Recent research has found that 58% of consumers had used chatbots for simple customer service requests in 2022 – 35% more than in 2020. Another 65% had used self-service account portals, with millennials reporting greater uptake than other generations.

Zac Hayes, Managing Director of the Business & Wealth Collective, has witnessed this client preference for channels that are always-on across his four accounting practices.

“Expectations around levels of efficiency have definitely changed,” he says. “When clients want something, they want it now.”

The real game-changer was COVID-19. Hayes has found that expectations for face-to-face contact are dissipating, especially with younger generations.

“They’ve grown up on this technology. If you can’t give clients and customers exactly what they want, when they want it, they’ll go somewhere else. As a business owner, I need to factor all these things into account.”

Turning a blind eye to changing customer expectations, or not questioning whether some demographics would prefer to use AI tools could put the viability of a business at risk.

“What they’re really doing is disengaging with the next generation,” Hayes says of accountants who don’t consider the pros, cons and capabilities of technology. “When businesses are implementing a solution, they need to think about the problems today and the future problems. Putting efficiencies in place to help resolve those problems is key.”

Chatbots in action

The team at Vault Accountants is testing a chatbot that has the ability to answer around 30-35 frequently asked questions with a small group of tech-savvy clients to free up accountants’ time.

“In an average week we receive about 200 phone calls,” says Craig Dangar, Principal Accountant at Vault Accountants. “An accountant might lose 10 minutes every time they answer the phone, and then they’re distracted so it takes time to return to the task they were working on before.”

Dangar calculates that team members might spend 20 minutes each in an average week answering simple questions that could be answered by a chatbot.

“The chatbot can answer about 80-90% of a client's questions and then our internal staff will be notified if the chatbot is unable to answer a question.”

At that point, the onus is on the accountant to respond in a timely manner.

“If a client has put in the effort to ask the chatbot half a dozen questions, we need to then take control of the conversation by picking up the phone or sending them a message within 10-15 minutes. Being responsive is really critical.”

So far, Dangar says there’s been strong uptake, particularly for queries related to individual tax returns. He acknowledges that these results with the tech-savvy pilot group may not represent all client cohorts and notes that he believes the use of chatbots should be voluntary.

He also emphasises the need to set expectations, and get clients accustomed to the idea of engaging with a chatbot from the get-go.

“When we bring on a new client, we try to tell them upfront that for simpler queries, it’s easier for them to jump onto our website and they’ll have access to our chatbot that can answer basic questions,” says Dangar.

“We’ll say that our team is always here and available but for the simpler queries, it’s often easier and quicker to get an answer from a chatbot.”

Mitigating the risks of using chatbots

Hayes is similarly exploring the possibility of using a chatbot in an ‘Ask Me Anything’ function so that clients can have their questions answered quickly.

“If we can use AI in a really smart way where they can access verified answers, I’m all for that,” says Hayes.

He also sees payoff in efficiency if AI tools can free up time for accountants to focus on more complex tasks, but part of his exploratory phase is considering all the risks involved.

Hayes suggests that any assessment of a potential new tool should include sourcing reputable product reviews from within the industry and gauging experiences with that new tool. He particularly emphasises the importance of considering privacy and safety in the use of AI tools including chatbots, considering that clients may submit personal data during the chat.

Take the quiz

While many consumers are ready to use chatbots to find answers to simple questions around the clock, practices may have more work to do before offering this capability. To help you explore whether you’re ready to use chatbots to engage with clients, and the areas where your practice might need to find out more or develop skills, Public Accountant has created a short seven-question quiz.

Take 10 minutes to benchmark your readiness and find out any gaps.