If 2023 was the year of the AI chatbot and 2024 was the year of the “copilot,” then 2025 has a clear theme: the AI agent.
The shift is significant. Chatbots answer questions. Copilots make suggestions. But agents? Agents actually do the work.
What Makes an AI Agent Different?
The distinction matters more than it might seem. A copilot might draft an email for you to review and send. An agent sends the email, monitors for responses, follows up when needed, and only escalates to you when human judgment is required.
According to recent surveys, 99% of enterprise developers are now building or exploring AI agents. Industry analysts have declared this the definitive shift from AI that assists to AI that acts.
An AI agent has three defining characteristics:
- Autonomous: It works independently toward defined goals
- Goal-oriented: It doesn’t just respond to prompts; it works to achieve specific outcomes
- Tool-using: It can access software, APIs, and systems to get things done
Why Accounts Receivable is Perfect for AI Agents
Not every business function is suited for autonomous AI. Some require constant human judgment. Others are too unpredictable for current technology.
Accounts receivable, however, is almost perfectly designed for AI agents:
- Clear, measurable goals: Get invoices paid. Reduce days sales outstanding. Improve cash flow.
- Repetitive communication patterns: Following up on invoices involves consistent tasks that benefit from personalisation but don’t require novel problem-solving for each interaction.
- Defined escalation points: It’s straightforward to identify when a situation needs human intervention (disputes, complex negotiations, legal matters).
- Rich context to work with: Invoice data, payment history, and prior correspondence provide everything an AI needs to communicate intelligently.
The Practical Reality
You’ve probably experienced the frustration of reminder systems that send the same generic email to every customer regardless of their history. That’s automation, but it’s not intelligent.
An AI agent handling accounts receivable knows that Customer A always pays within a week of a first reminder, while Customer B needs three follow-ups spaced five days apart. It knows Customer C had a billing dispute last quarter and adjusts its tone accordingly.
This is the difference between automation and agency. Automation follows rules. Agents pursue outcomes.
What This Means for Your Business
The technology for AI agents that handle real business tasks has matured rapidly. For accounts receivable specifically, this means you can now have AI that:
- Monitors your outstanding invoices continuously
- Initiates appropriate follow-up without being prompted
- Adapts communication based on customer behaviour and history
- Handles back-and-forth correspondence intelligently
- Escalates to you only when needed
At Aiden, we’ve built exactly this: an AI agent purpose-built for accounts receivable. Not a reminder system with AI features bolted on, but an agent designed from the ground up to get you paid.
The age of AI agents has arrived. The question is whether you’ll let one handle the work you’ve been doing manually.