Three ways accounting software providers can deliver new value with generative AI

Generative AI product development for its own sake is unlikely to deliver long term value. As with any technology, it pays to work backwards from your customers. The Sage team began by analyzing where generative AI would deliver value and where it would not. “When a new technology is introduced, there’s often a push to try and use it to solve any kind of problem, even when it doesn't really apply,” says Amaya Souarez, Sage’s EVP of Cloud Services and Operations. “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

After identifying multiple potential use cases for generative AI, the team worked closely with customers to determine which areas were worth investing in. Everything starts with our customers,” says Souarez. “We work closely with them to identify the pain points, where AI can remove friction, drive automation, and unlock better decision-making. That clarity helps us invest in the right innovations, creating products like Sage Copilot that elevate both performance and customer experience.” This approach shaped the development of Sage Copilot and meant the Sage team was building a more valuable product from day one.

“Sage Copilot is more than an assistant, it’s a high-performance engine for our customers, and it will be integrated across our portfolio of solutions” says Souarez. “It helps automate invoicing, optimize cash flow, surface anomalies in the general ledger, and even support training on upcoming regulatory requirements in their jurisdiction. It’s designed to free up time and unlock insights so our customers and our partners can focus on what really drives growth.”

As a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider, Sage had a head start on making generative AI innovation possible. With flexible and scalable technology foundations, it could easily adopt new capabilities without running into legacy architecture challenges. But when AI technologies are evolving at pace, Sage also sought out expert support and ready-to-use services to fast-track custom implementations.

By working with trusted technology partners, software providers can not only build agile infrastructure, but they can also access the latest foundation models (FMs) and AI tools to advance higher quality products at speed. For example, Sage Copilot leverages multiple AWS services, including Amazon Lex, an AI chat builder that allows users to interact with any application using natural language voice or chat. Sage is also using Amazon Bedrock, a fully managed service delivering access to high-performing FMs from leading providers, to securely test and evaluate FMs against its use case. But that’s only the start.

“Together with AWS, we’re developing domain-specific language models for accounting, focused on key topics and specialized areas within the field, because when our customers ask complex questions, they need precision, not generic answers,” says Souarez. “This collaboration accelerates innovation, enhances trust, and positions Sage Copilot to handle complex, multi-step tasks with the intelligence and nuance finance teams expect, while keeping the experience intuitive and simple.”

“Of course, the benefits only matter if the technology can be trusted. And in finance, trust isn’t optional - it’s everything,” she adds. “That’s why we’re applying rigorous governance, validation, and oversight to every AI capability we develop. Our goal is to deliver AI customers can rely on, intelligent, secure, and always working in their best interest.”

Developing new generative AI offerings can help accounting software providers open new recurring revenue streams, but setting an effective pricing strategy is key. Again, the Sage team take a customer-centric approach to getting this right. “Pricing should reflect impact,” says Souarez. “Our goal is to ensure customers see clear, tangible returns, whether it’s time saved or smarter financial decisions. That’s how we build trust and long-term value.”

For example, Sage Copilot can provide customers with significant time and cost savings by automating monthly close. That value helps the Sage team gauge where to set their price per user, but they also work hard to reduce their own operational costs and pass on those savings to customers.

“We’re scaling with purpose, raising the bar on resilience, performance, and accessibility,” says Souarez. “By working closely with AWS, we’re delivering AI capabilities that are both powerful and practical, helping our customers work smarter, move faster, and grow with confidence.”

By taking a customer-centric approach to generative AI product design, Sage is delivering tangible value to its customers while driving new revenue. By working backwards from your customers, building relationships with reliable technology partners, and keeping costs under control, you too can seize the generative AI opportunity and help to shape the future of accounting software.

Learn how AWS gives software and technology companies the freedom to grow and scale in the cloud.