SMEs embrace AI to improve expense management

By Milan Rojan

American Express has released the latest edition of its Trendex survey, focusing on expense management and the growing pressure on businesses to handle company and employee spending more efficiently. The survey has drawn on responses from 500 corporate financial decision makers and has highlighted how automation and artificial intelligence are increasingly shaping finance operations, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The findings have shown that expense management has remained a major challenge for businesses. Two-thirds of respondents, or 66 per cent, have said they have struggled to keep up with the complexity of company spending. Many firms have also pointed to manual processes as a source of inefficiency, with fragmented systems often making it harder to track spending, maintain visibility and stay compliant with internal policies.

At the same time, the survey has suggested that businesses have increasingly viewed technology as part of the solution. Just over half of respondents, 52 per cent, have said they have used AI to help manage expenses, while another 40 per cent have said they do not currently use AI but plan to do so in the future. That trend has indicated growing interest in tools that can support finance teams with routine tasks and improve control over spending.

Among businesses that have already adopted AI for expense management, the most common use cases have included detecting fraud or errors, categorising expenses and capturing receipt data, each cited by 42 per cent of users. These functions have helped companies reduce manual workloads and improve the speed and accuracy of expense processing.

The report has also pointed to stronger visibility among AI users. Businesses that have used AI were twice as likely to say it was very easy to see exactly where their company was spending compared with those that have not used the technology, at 45 per cent versus 23 per cent. In addition, AI users are more likely to say it has been very easy for employees to keep up with changes to company spending rules, at 44 per cent compared with 26 per cent among non-users.

For SMEs in particular, the results have underscored the growing relevance of digital expense tools as they have balanced tighter budgets, limited finance resources and rising compliance demands. As spending patterns have become more complex, automation has emerged as a way for smaller firms to improve oversight without adding operational strain.

The survey has suggested that AI is no longer being viewed only as a future-facing concept, but as a practical tool that has already been helping businesses improve visibility, reduce errors and strengthen expense control.