Artificial intelligence is no longer a future capability being tested at the edges of business. It is now being embedded into day-to-day operations, particularly in how routine internal work is handled.
What’s changed is not the existence of AI, but its role. Rather than supporting analysis or experimentation, AI is increasingly being used to run repeatable business processes that already exist inside most organisations.
A recent demonstration by Nexxia, an Australian firm focused on embedding AI directly into business workflows, illustrated this shift clearly. While the session was delivered to professional firms, the implications extend to many owner-managed and privately held businesses.
(Disclosure: Nexxia is a company in which Tony Dormer, Founder and Managing Director of Cuthberts, holds an ownership interest.)
Where AI is being applied
The focus is not on standalone AI tools, but on automated “digital clerks” that execute defined internal processes in the same way a staff member would.
Common examples include:
- Reviewing contracts against internal risk rules
- Onboarding employees by collecting and validating information
- Processing invoices and routing exceptions
- Responding to routine customer or client enquiries
- Completing forms or submissions using existing business data
These activities are already being performed in most businesses. They are typically manual, repetitive and dependent on staff acting as the link between systems.
What’s driving adoption
Most businesses already use accounting systems, CRMs and document management platforms. Work slows down where those systems don’t connect and people provide the coordination.
AI agents are now being used to run processes across systems end-to-end, rather than improving one tool in isolation. For businesses with increasing transaction volumes, lean teams or rising labour costs, this creates a clear commercial incentive.
The impact is less about replacing people and more about reallocating time away from administration and rework toward judgement, oversight and client-facing activity.
Who this matters most for
Businesses with very low volumes, highly bespoke work or minimal internal processes may see limited benefit. By contrast, businesses with repeatable workflows often see disproportionate returns, even at smaller scale, because incremental time savings compound quickly.
What owners should take from this
Businesses that rely on informal workarounds tend to feel pressure first as volumes increase. Those that define and stabilise processes early are better positioned to use automation as a control mechanism rather than a disruption.
For owners, understanding where work is repeatable, where bottlenecks occur and where staff time is being consumed is becoming part of basic commercial literacy, not a technology exercise