{"id":17775,"date":"2024-02-27T20:25:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T20:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=17775"},"modified":"2026-01-29T09:23:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T09:23:38","slug":"trust-build-reliable-ai-tools-customer-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/trust-build-reliable-ai-tools-customer-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Trust as a differentiator: How to build reliable AI tools for customer success"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/category\/technology-innovation\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Technology &amp; Innovation<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTrust as a differentiator: How to build reliable AI tools for customer success\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2024-02-27T20:25:00+00:00\">27 February, 2024<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"Trust as a differentiator: How to build reliable AI tools for customer success\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/trust-build-reliable-ai-tools-customer-success\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/author\/aaronharris\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/02\/Aaron-Harris-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"aaron-harris\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/02\/Aaron-Harris-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/02\/Aaron-Harris.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 40px) 100vw, 40px\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Aaron Harris<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising the way the accounting industry works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s elevating human performance by taking on the burden of repetitive but required tasks, and by accelerating analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But accounting is based on trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, companies must be totally sure that AI works accurately before they can use it to its full potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even the most innovative AI tool is only useful if it\u2019s being used in the right way. And people are only comfortable transitioning work into the hands of technology if they trust it will do the job safely and competently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/kpmg.com\/xx\/en\/home\/insights\/2023\/09\/trust-in-artificial-intelligence.html#:~:text=Trust%20and%20acceptance%20depend%20on%20the%20AI%20application.&amp;text=Three%20in%20five%20(61%20percent,wary%20about%20trusting%20AI%20systems.&amp;text=67%20percent%20report%20low%20to%20moderate%20acceptance%20of%20AI.&amp;text=AI%20use%20in%20human%20resources,the%20most%20trusted%20and%20accepted.\">recent KPMG study<\/a>, for instance, found that 61% of people are wary about trusting AI systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, how do you instil trust in the AI designed to support the role of accountants?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s about taking a responsible, humble approach to AI development while working in collaboration with customers throughout the process, ensuring they have faith not only in the technology, but also in the company behind the technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s what we cover in this article:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#humility\">Humility and accountability<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#ethical\">Ethical considerations<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#a\">A customer-centric, trusted approach<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#users\">Users must feel in control<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#building\">Building trust at every stage<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Sage Ai<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Discover how you can use Sage Ai to make smarter, faster decisions, get a dynamic, real-time view of your business performance, and gain access to actionable insights.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/sage-ai\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tid=\"cta-id-17787\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-button-location=\"cta_box\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Learn more about Sage Ai<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1215\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1386923772-1215x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Woman working with AI on a tablet\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1386923772-1215x810.jpg 1215w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"humility\">Humility and accountability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>AI can be an enormous force for good, but its speed and scale of operations mean it equally has the capacity to do harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And\u2014irrespective of which process is automated or how accurately\u2014accountability for results, a core element of accounting, will always reside with humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s about finding the balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One in which AI seamlessly blends into workflows, enhancing them, while human guidance and contributions remain essential to the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s OK to admit nobody knows all the answers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I began my journey with AI seven years ago, I didn&#8217;t fully grasp the extensive impact that even the most harmless-seeming applications could have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why developers need to take a step back and explore all potential outcomes of creating a product to solve a business challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, Sage might create an AI tool that can speedily provide credit scores for small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, we&#8217;re not thinking about doing this right now because there&#8217;s a risk that the AI might be biased. This means it could unfairly give lower scores to businesses owned by women or minorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Sage, we&#8217;re cautious about using AI in ways that could unintentionally harm certain groups because we want to ensure fairness for all businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"ethical\">Ethical considerations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Getting to a point where AI can provide these insights starts by being deliberate about what you are allowing AI to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And articulating clear principles that define what you will and will not do with AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This builds customer trust as they understand what types of problems you\u2019ll use AI to address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instilling clear principles from the outset helps to mitigate potential bias arising in AI. It guides developers in choosing which problems we can solve with AI that don\u2019t carry societal risk, and as a result can help to avoid any unwanted consequences of supplied AI insights from training data and data sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using AI auditors to identify particular areas to address in your AI development process can also combat possible biases. As can investing in recruiting diverse talent into development teams to build in diversity of thought and lived experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diversity remains an issue in the AI industry, with fewer than 25% of AI employees identifying as a racial or ethnic minority in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/capabilities\/quantumblack\/our-insights\/the-state-of-ai-in-2022-and-a-half-decade-in-review\">2022 McKinsey study<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, women <a>accounted<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.turing.ac.uk\/news\/where-are-women-mapping-gender-job-gap-ai#:~:text=Currently%2C%20women%20make%20up%20an,14%25%20and%209%25%20respectively.\">for just 26% of workers in data and AI globally in 2021<\/a> and it\u2019s safe to say that hasn\u2019t evened out in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Sage Copilot<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Learn about our new generative AI-powered assistant that tackles your to-do list, automates tasks, and recommends ways to help you make savings and drive improvements.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/sage-copilot\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tid=\"cta-id-17786\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-button-location=\"cta_box\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Find out about Sage Copilot<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1215\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1459190037-1215x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Working on business finances\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1459190037-1215x810.jpg 1215w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a\">A customer-centric, trusted approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It only takes one error to lose an accountant\u2019s trust\u2014especially in small businesses where even tiny mistakes can cause big problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why it\u2019s super important that when accountants start using technology to automate jobs that people used to do, they have confidence it\u2019s going to work correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Sage, we\u2019re creating AI that works as well as a human does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Involving the people who\u2019ll actually use this AI in the development process helps us to make sure we\u2019re on the right track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By working closely with our customers, we can really understand what they need and where they\u2019re finding our AI helpful, and use their feedback to make the AI more fit for purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For accountants, this frees up more time for strategic leadership\u2013letting AI handle the routine stuff as well as crunching the numbers to give useful insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/sage-business-cloud\/intacct\/core-financials\/general-ledger-accounting\/\">general ledger outlier detection<\/a> as an example. Accountants don\u2019t have time to look through thousands and thousands of transactions, so this product identifies anomalous transactions for review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the outset, we thought it would be valuable to flag every single problem immediately. But this was interrupting employee workflow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, guided by our customers, we redesigned it to provide grouped outliers presented as <em>potential <\/em>problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if there\u2019s only one real problem in a list of 100 the AI provides, that delivers value because it might otherwise have been missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, by reacting to actual customer needs, we show them we understand how they work and make decisions with the aim of boosting their efficiency\u2013two key elements in building trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"users\">Users must feel in control<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Developing AI is about more than understanding how humans make a decision or perform a task. It\u2019s about considering human emotions too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, AI has the potential to pay vendors with no human review. But that takes a leap of faith most users are not willing to make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s human intuition to question if technology is doing what it claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By understanding the emotional element, you can design a solution with the right degree of human oversight and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the case of vendor payments, we\u2019d need a significantly higher degree of confidence in our predictions and would be far more conservative about what decisions are automated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Simply put, the more anxious an employee feels about getting something wrong, the more control they should feel across the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"building\">Building trust at every stage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>AI is already propelling the accounting industry forward but as its adoption increases, and AI interactions become more obvious, trust in the technology is going to be even more pivotal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This trust comes from a few things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The AI must be accurate so people can rely on it to produce the right results. It\u2019s about being honest about AI\u2019s limitations and managing expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Companies need to feel sure that the developers who make AI have thoroughly tested it and have carefully considered its impact on society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It means being transparent, self-policing, and complying with regulations as they evolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, importantly, it means understanding how people and AI fit together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now more than ever, the people developing AI and the people using it need to work hand in hand to make sure AI acts the right way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The chance for AI to empower small and medium businesses is huge. Trust is the differentiator that can help unlock that potential.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Join more than 500,000 UK readers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-b1a63862-3fa0-4a5e-bb67-c76b88bbc6b8\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The chance for AI to empower small and medium businesses, and accountants, is huge. Discover why trust can help to unlock that potential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":967,"featured_media":11459,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[50],"business_type":[4,3,115],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[67,70,71,73,74,75],"imagine_tag":[220,221,309,96,109],"coauthors":[654],"class_list":["post-17775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology-innovation","tag-ai","business_type-small-business","business_type-medium-sized-business","business_type-accountants"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Aaron Harris","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1288428995.jpg","imagine_tags":{"220":"Accountant accounting","221":"Accountant automation","309":"AI Hub","96":"Medium businesses","109":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/967"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/11459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17775"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=17775"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=17775"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=17775"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=17775"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=17775"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=17775"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=17775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}