SMBs Ramp up AI Tool Use to Manage Company and Employee Expenses

Why It Matters

AI‑driven expense management gives SMBs clearer financial visibility and tighter controls, cutting manual effort and fraud risk as they scale. The shift supports faster growth and more disciplined spending policies.

Key Takeaways

• 52% of SMBs use AI for expense management.
• AI improves visibility: 45% find spending “very easy” vs 26% non‑users.
• Fraud detection, categorization, receipt capture are top AI use cases (42% each).
• 64% say manual processes still dominate expense handling.
• 92% plan tool consolidation this year to reduce fragmentation.

Pulse Analysis

The expense‑management landscape for small and midsized businesses is becoming increasingly complex, driven by expanding vendor networks and frequent policy updates. American Express’s latest survey reveals that more than half of SMBs have turned to artificial‑intelligence tools to tame this complexity, with AI applications focused on fraud detection, automatic categorization and receipt digitization. These capabilities not only streamline data capture but also provide real‑time insights that were previously buried in spreadsheets, enabling finance leaders to make faster, more accurate decisions.

Beyond visibility, AI is reshaping compliance and control. Respondents who use AI report a 45% confidence level that they can easily track where every dollar is spent—nearly double the 26% confidence among non‑users. This heightened transparency translates into stronger enforcement of spending rules and quicker identification of irregularities, reducing the risk of costly errors or fraudulent claims. However, the survey also highlights a lingering reliance on manual processes, with 64% of firms acknowledging that too much of their expense workflow remains hands‑on, underscoring an opportunity for further automation.

The market is responding with a mix of established and emerging players. While SAP Concur remains a heavyweight, newer platforms such as Ramp, Brex and BILL Spend & Expense are gaining traction by embedding AI directly into their core functionality. As 92% of SMBs plan to consolidate their expense tools this year, vendors that can offer an integrated, AI‑powered suite are poised to capture significant share. For SMB finance teams, the strategic move is clear: adopt AI to reduce manual overhead, consolidate platforms, and leverage data‑driven insights to support sustainable growth.