Zeni’s 2026 AI in accounting report: usage and tools

In our 2026 Accountant AI Survey, we asked 100 accounting professionals about their relationship with artificial intelligence (AI) and how they expect it to change in the future. 

This report analyzes the results of that unique research to help you understand the current state of AI in accounting, including how much it’s being used, in what ways, and how those applications are changing the industry.

How much is AI used in accounting?

AI system adoption has reached a tipping point in the accounting field. Though largely experimental only a few years ago, the technology has become an integral part of operations for many industry professionals in 2026.

According to our survey data, 65% of accountants said they use AI tools regularly. Another 26% said they use it at least occasionally, while just 5% said they don’t use it and have no plans to change that anytime soon.

When asked for more tangible utilisation measures, 54% of survey respondents reported that they use AI powered tools for accounting work on a daily basis, and 37% said they use it between one and a few times per week.

Notably, finance leaders are the group of accounting professionals who are most enthusiastic about AI based on nearly every metric. 

For example, 79% reported using an AI tool regularly (66% daily), compared to just 52% (40% daily) of in-house accountants.

While survey respondents primarily reported using generative AI tools like Claude and Gemini (76%), AI features inside accounting software are also popular, with more than half (51%) of respondents saying they use them.

The ways accountants use AI

In 2026, accountants are mainly using AI to streamline tasks that would otherwise require repetitive manual work. For example, according to our survey, the most common use cases include financial data entry or categorization (51%) and research (46%).

However, that’s not to say that accountants aren’t applying it to more sophisticated tasks as well, such as financial data analysis or forecasting (46%) and the preparation of annual tax returns (36%).

These applications are saving many accountants significant amounts of time, as 42% said that AI algorithms take one to five hours of work off their plates weekly. Another 25% reported time savings of six to 10 hours, and 18% said it saves them 11 or more.

Fittingly, financial management leaders were the most likely to report the greatest benefits, with 68% saying that they saved at least six hours per week, compared to just 37% of in-house accountants and 31% of public accountants.

This may be a reflection of their increased tendency to leverage AI accounting software (76%) compared to the other two groups of professionals (46%), rather than just making use of chatbots.

Are accountants worried about AI replacing them?

Accountants aren’t as worried about AI replacing them as public discourse might lead you to believe. When asked how they feel about AI’s impact on the accounting profession, the most common responses were excited (47%) and optimistic (31%).

Just one in ten accountants had negative feelings toward AI, including 9% who said they were concerned about it and 1% who said they felt threatened. The other 12% merely felt neutral toward the technology’s impact on the profession.

However, it’s worth noting that accountant sentiments toward AI often shift depending on the size of the professional’s accounting firm, with 0% of those at small firms being concerned versus 13% at large ones.

In part, this may be a reflection of the fact that larger firms are more likely to use the additional capacity freed up through AI to hire fewer people, with 34% of them reporting that goal compared to just 25% of accounting firms generally.

How AI is changing accounting

Instead of replacing accounting jobs, most accountants think AI will simply change the nature of their roles. More specifically, they tend to expect that it will move them away from repetitive accounting tasks and more toward advisory and strategic planning work.

In addition, 42% of accountants reported that they anticipate AI automation will allow them to work fewer hours and reduce their risk of burnout. At the same time, 59% said they believe it will enable them to take on more clients.

This optimistic outlook suggests that accountants may believe AI applications in accounting have significant room to grow—enough that they can simultaneously hire less, take on more engagements, and work fewer hours.

Who is investing in AI?

AI tools are an increasingly important investment target for many accountants. In fact, 33% of our survey respondents reported that AI is their single biggest investment priority for the 12 months ahead.

Notably, this outstripped the goal of hiring and talent acquisition (24%), despite the widely acknowledged talent shortage in the accounting industry. 

This is reflected in the fact that 60% of accountants said hiring qualified staff was somewhat to very difficult in the last year.

Once again, finance team leaders are primarily the ones spearheading the AI investment charge. 

While 50% of accountants overall reported expecting their AI use to increase significantly over the next 12 months, that number went up to 62% for finance leaders.

This likely represents the fact that the leadership group controls the company budget and sees the return on investment from AI most clearly. As a result, they tend to embrace the technology most readily.

Accounting automation

What can be automated

AI technology has already proven itself highly effective at automating many routine aspects of accounting. The simplest include general business administration, like drafting client emails, summarizing documents, and generating reports.

However, with dedicated AI accounting platforms emerging and legacy accounting software increasingly implementing AI features, its uses have also expanded into accounting-specific workflows.

These have primarily included routine, rules-based tasks, such as:

• Transaction entry and categorization
• Invoice processing and accounts payable
• Bank account and credit card reconciliations
• Tax preparation and financial audit support
• Generation of financial statements and reports

Our accountant survey found that 43% of accountants say they save 6 hours per week or more with AI.

In 2026, the most significant shift is toward agentic AI. With this technological wave, AI can manage complex, multi-step accounting processes with minimal human supervision by making intelligent decisions and acting independently across connected systems.

For example, Zeni’s AI Accountant agent can perform recurring flux analysis and generate accurate journal entries. Similarly, our AI CFO agent can create sophisticated runway projections and facilitate strategic headcount planning.

What can’t be automated

As powerful as AI is, it still struggles with some of accounting's more nuanced problems. Much of the profession involves navigating gray areas in regulations and accounting standards, which requires a sophisticated understanding of context.

For now, AI often lacks the professional judgment necessary to navigate these niche situations effectively. This is why so many modern accounting teams believe their roles will be shifting toward strategic advisory services over the coming years.

Importantly, these limitations may not be permanent. AI’s capabilities are continuing to advance rapidly, making it challenging to predict which accounting responsibilities will remain beyond its reach over the next decade.

That said, some aspects of accounting require human qualities that the technology can’t easily replicate. For example, building client relationships, taking legal responsibility, and drawing on real-world experience are all uniquely human accountant abilities.

As a result, AI is unlikely to automate accounting entirely for the foreseeable future. 

Instead, as most accountants expect, it will probably continue to shift the role of professionals toward strategic leadership and other responsibilities where human expertise can have the greatest impact.

Schedule a free demo today to see Zeni’s AI agents in action.

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