Xero Adds AI, Google Targets Law Firms And Claude Beats ChatGPT: 5 Small Business Tech Stories

Xero Announces New AI innovations for Small Businesses and Accountants

At this year’s Xerocon US conference in Denver, accounting platform Xero demonstrated new capabilities of its AI agent JAX (Just Ask Xero). New features include Automated Bank-Reconciliation that allows JAX to identify unreconciled transactions, duplicates, missing documents and anomalies, then help resolve them while updating the books in real time. According to Xero, this feature will save accountants/bookkeepers 50 percent of their time devoted to reconciliation. Smart Document Capture extracts financial information from invoices, receipts and other documents directly into Xero. JAX can also search for possible cash flow shortages in advance and suggest actions steps to address them. Additional updates include expanded AI integrations with Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude. (Source: Investing News Network)

Why this is important for your small business:

I’m a business owner that uses a Xero competitor for our accounting. But it’s no difference – Xero is an excellent platform. However, going into 2027 I would be irresponsible if I don’t push my bookkeeper into leveraging my product’s AI automation and agentic features like Xero is offering. I think every business owner needs to do this. The technology is getting more reliable and easier to use. It will mature. It’s good enough now, however for our accounting staff to get trained on it and implement. AI will save them time and make them more productive. That, in turn will keep my overhead under control.

Google Expands Gemini Enterprise AI platform for Law Firms, Lawyers

Google is extending its AI tools and support into the legal field with the newly announced launch of Gemini Enterprise for Legal, the Star Advertiser reported. The new offering adds legal-specific agents, data connections, security controls and workflows – “initially available in preview,” Google stated on its blog. Gemini's agents can assist with contract review and redlining, legal and policy research, regulatory monitoring, drafting NDAs, preparing documents for redaction, creating contracting playbooks and handling data-subject access requests. The new solution connects with existing legal software such as iManage, NetDocuments, Docusign, and many others. According to the report several law firms are collaborating with Google on the new offering. This latest update from Google is timely given the increasing widespread use of AI by legal professionals. Gemini Enterprise for Legal was launched in preview alongside a financial-services offering, with Google indicating that additional versions (e.g., healthcare, life sciences) are planned. (Source: Star Advertiser)

I run a tech firm and the moment I saw this article I sent it to my project director with the note: “we should be doing this!” It’s a great opportunity for consultants and internal IT people at law firms to learn these specialized tools and then apply. Most law firms are likely not even aware of Google’s new offerings, and yet the capabilities and benefits appear to be substantial – and cost-effective.

Goldman Sachs Partner Warns of 'Huge Danger' in Letting AI Replace Bankers' Reasoning Skills

CNBC reported on Goldman Sachs’ partner Chris Churchman and his warning about the risks of relying on artificial intelligence in the banking industry. Churchman was unequivocal about the “huge danger” of AI resulting in “cognitive atrophy” if employees increasingly outsource their thinking to the technology. He added that AI could eliminate some of the work through which junior bankers traditionally learn how to analyze problems and make decisions. Churchman’s comments were highlighted from his recent appearance on the Goldman Sachs podcast “Exchanges”. He supported his comments with the comparison of reliance on GPS weakening people’s navigation skills – and emphasized that much of a banker's expertise is acquired through experience. Churchman’s concerns are valid and underscores the importance of human discernment when it comes to balancing AI utilization in the workforce. (Source: CNBC)

AI is going to replace 80% of what many of these bankers do. But on the flip side it will create a greater need from their clients to talk to a human. Companies and individuals enjoy leaning into AI to answer questions and give advice. But, as humans, we know that there’s something missing: a relationship, a perceived knowledge, real world experience, a different perspective that AI can’t bring. The best bankers will leverage AI for information, advice and strategies but will then use their skills to communicate their advice to their clients.

LinkedIn's 'Seems Like AI Slop' button Has Already Been Used 1 Million Times

LinkedIn has tried an effective approach to weeding out AI slop. The networking platform is testing a “seems like AI slop” button which lets users flag posts they believe are low-quality, spammy or overly AI-generated. The feature has reportedly proven its value. According to LinkedIn product manager Hari Srinivasan, users have already pressed the button over million times since testing began a few weeks ago. In some cases, LinkedIn says views of content classified as AI spam have decreased by as much as 40 percent. The platform hasn’t disclosed how the AI slop button affects its algorithm, but they’ve applied safeguards to prevent misuse. The term AI slop has become more prominent over the past couple of years as people are becoming more attuned to low-quality AI. For businesses and marketers LinkedIn’s experiment is a valuable reminder to avoid publishing AI saturated content. (Source: PCWorld)

I’m a frequent and loyal user of LinkedIn and, like so many others, have gotten tired (and annoyed) not only at everyone’s incredible-super-fabulous professional success (wow, who knew everyone was crushing it so well!) but the increasing use of AI slop to make their posts. I love this feature and have been using it. I want LinkedIn to stay clean, professional and useful, not the wild west of AI.

Claude Wins Out in Major User Satisfaction Survey, Beating Gemini and ChatGPT – But It's Bad News for Grok and Siri

Tech reporter Christian Calwey discussed the results of an enlightening survey about which AI assistants that users are most pleased with. The results are based on UK users surveyed through YouGov’s BrandIndex between March 1 and July 31st of this year. Data from the survey showed that Anthropic’s Claude has the highest satisfaction score of 56.2 percent among former and current users. Gemini placed second at 46.5 percent and ChatGPT at 46 percent. Alex and Microsoft Copilot landed in the middle with 42.6 percent and 37. 2 percent respectively. Grok and Siri had the low satisfaction results on the “ratings top 10” with users saying that the tools “did not satisfy.” While Claude isn’t necessarily the most used assistant, it has established an especially positive reputation even for users who don’t use it regularly. (Source: TechRadar Pro)

I don’t give a lot of weight to these things. Saying that Claude is better or worse than ChatGPT, CoPilot or Gemini is like saying a Honda CRV is better or worse than a Toyota RAV4 or Nissan Rogue. They’re all going to get you from point A to point B.

Note: Have a technology story that small business owners should know about? Don’t mind me sharing my opinion? Share it with me on X @genemarks.