If I told you 10 years ago that your accounts payable team would spend less time typing invoice numbers and more time analyzing vendor strategy, you might have scoffed. Yet here we are.

Nearly three-quarters of finance teams already use AI in AP, and 82% plan to invest further over the next year, according to Vic.ai’s 2025 AI Momentum Report.

This signals a major shift. Automation isn’t new. What’s new is how finance teams are evolving into what I call AI-native operations — systems and teams built around intelligent automation rather than just improved by it.

The journey to ‘AI-native AP’

For years, back-office teams relied on workflow tools to route invoices and catch duplicates. The 2025 era of AP looks different. We’ve moved from “automate what we already do” to “let AI learn, predict, and guide better decisions.”

Finance functions are shifting from being “AI-powered” to fully AI-native, where workflows, hiring and decision-making are designed around intelligent automation from the ground up.

Here’s what this shift looks like in real life: First, you bring in finance professionals who can understand and act on AI insights, not just enter numbers into a system. Next, you start tracking how many smart insights your team is generating, not just how many invoices they’ve pushed through. And instead of celebrating hours saved, you focus on how much cash flow you’ve unlocked for the business.

Research shows that AI-driven invoice automation can reduce processing costs. But AI-native AP isn’t about speed alone. It’s about intelligence. These systems don’t just crunch numbers anymore. They can recognize spending patterns, flag unusual transactions, and even predict when cash might get tight. Moreover, the real progress happens when people take those insights and turn them into action instead of spending hours buried in spreadsheets.

CFOs’ changing focus

AI frees up human teams by taking on repetitive work such as invoice capture, matching and approval routing. Humans provide the context, ethical judgment, and business understanding that no algorithm can replicate. Together, they turn what used to be transactional work into strategic insight.

At this stage, the focus is shifting from simply getting things done faster to being able to see what’s coming next. According to the latest AI Momentum Report, 44% of organizations are now using AI to pull insights from their data, and 42% are improving their invoice approval processes with it. It’s a clear sign that finance leaders aren’t just adding new tech, they’re finding ways to make intelligence part of how their teams actually work.

I see this shift in conversation everywhere. CFOs aren’t just asking, “How do we process faster?” They’re asking, “How do we use our payment data to improve decisions?” When AI flags that one supplier consistently invoices late or applies inaccurate discounts, that’s no longer clerical work, it’s a strategic discussion.

Of course, none of this happens overnight. Even with all the promise AI brings, finance teams still run into plenty of roadblocks, such as issues related to trust, integration and culture.

2026 and beyond

As we head into 2026, the question for finance leaders isn’t “Should we use AI?” It’s “How will we design our AP to be truly AI-native, where technology and people learn from each other to drive smarter, faster and more ethical financial decisions?”

Building an AI-native finance team starts with people, not technology. The best finance teams are not the ones that rely on software for everything. They are the ones who know when to lean on technology and when a human touch matters. People bring intuition and context, and AI brings speed and accuracy. Together, they make the whole process smoother and smarter.

That’s when AP stops feeling like busywork and starts driving smarter decisions and real growth.