Dext launches AI agent to automate bookkeeping decisions

"It uses this understanding to surface suggestions on how to automate those repetitive tasks across future workflows. The result is less time spent manually applying judgement across repetitive tasks and more time delivering insight," it said.

Dext said it had already removed millions of hours of manual data entry from bookkeeping, with its automation capturing and processing over 350 million documents at scale with high accuracy.

The software firm said AI Assist tackles the next stage of automation, enabling accountants and bookkeepers to automate the consistent application of decisions that reflect how they work.

"While document capture and data extraction are now highly automated, workflows often still depend on human judgement. These decisions vary between firms, clients and finance teams, from how transactions are categorised to how description fields are used, and how data is structured for reporting and workflows," it said.

"These decisions often reflect client-specific preferences and internal ways of working, creating a level of nuance that goes beyond standard rule-based automation. As a result, teams need a way to apply these decisions consistently across similar transactions, based on how they choose to work."

The introduction of AI Assist means teams no longer need to adapt their processes to fit rigid rules, as the automation adapts to how they work, Dext said.

Every suggestion AI Assist provides remains transparent and reviewable, ensuring professionals retain full control over how automation is applied, according to the software firm.

"This human-in-the-loop approach allows the system to continuously learn from user feedback, improving accuracy and consistency across financial data over time," it said.

Dext said the core principles behind Dext AI Assist are to ensure automation remains transparent, controlled, and aligned with professional oversight.

"Rather than replacing human decision-making, the system learns from it. By recognising patterns in how users handle specific client nuances, categorise transactions and apply tax treatments, Dext AI Assist helps apply those decisions more consistently across future transactions," it said.

Stephen Edginton, Dext's chief product and technology officer, said Dext AI was designed to work alongside users, not replace them.

"The platform already processes financial data at scale with high accuracy; AI Assist builds on that by learning how each team works and applying those decisions consistently," he said.

"Human judgement remains central to the process, while AI helps reduce the manual effort that slows teams down.”