By Andrew Guy, CEO at FD Intelligence
As a senior tax partner, I’m sure that you’ve being hearing all about AI in tax, and naturally you’d be sceptical, and with all the hype, probably confused.
“We’d tried automation before,” you might recall. Rules-based systems that worked fine until something unexpected occurs, which was about every third case.
Yet perspectives are shifting dramatically. Forward-thinking tax firms are employing Agentic AI across multiple tax workflows, achieving results that traditional automation never delivered.
The difference? Agentic AI doesn’t just follow scripts, it thinks, then acts faster.
Moving beyond button-pushing
Traditional automation excels at predictable, repetitive tasks. Fill in forms, route documents, send reminders. But tax work is rarely that straightforward. It involves interpretation, judgment, and context that basic automation struggles to handle.
Agentic AI represents a fundamental evolution. Rather than blindly executing predetermined steps, it evaluates situations, applies contextual logic, and makes informed decisions within defined parameters.
When it encounters ambiguity, which is common in tax, it doesn’t break down. It adapts.
Consider technical tax research, a cornerstone of quality advisory work. Traditionally, this meant hours of manual searches through legislation, case law, and HMRC guidance.
Even with digital tools, professionals spend significant time navigating fragmented sources and processing complex information.
What makes Agentic AI different?
Agentic AI transforms tax processes entirely. It doesn’t just do tax work faster. It does it smarter. Traditional automation improves speed but struggles with ambiguity.
Agentic AI handles messy, unstructured data, applies contextual logic, and supports real-time decision-making. It adapts within boundaries, escalating only when needed.
Instead of searching through static databases, professionals can pose specific questions in natural language. The system queries vast, continuously updated sources, from HMRC manuals to current case law. What’s delivered is structured, reference-backed responses within seconds.
But the real value lies in what happens next. The most advanced Agentic AI doesn’t just retrieve information; it processes it, identifies risks, and can even draft technical notes or timelines.
This isn’t about replacing professional judgment, it’s about providing the foundation for better judgment, faster.
Agentic AI in action
Beyond compliance, many firms face another bottleneck: research. Complex, time-sensitive technical tax queries, especially around disclosures, investigations, and legislation, consume hours of experienced professionals’ time.
For example, we have developed TIA™ an advanced self-serve capability that’s designed to reduce that burden.
It combines Agentic AI with natural language understanding, allowing professionals to query vast, frequently updated sources including: HMRC manuals, UK tax legislation, case law and technical guidance.
Instead of scrolling through static sources, users can ask specific questions and receive structured, reference-backed responses within seconds. TIA™ also supports:
- Risk identification
- Summarisation and drafting of timelines or technical notes
- Collaborative use within multi-disciplinary teams
Its primary value lies in amplifying the productivity of junior staff and freeing senior advisers for higher-value engagement. Early adopters are reporting remarkable results.
- Technical queries that once consumed hours now take minutes.
- Compliance effort has dropped by up to 80% for routine matters
- Advisory capacity has increased by 50%
These aren’t marginal improvements; they’re transformative gains.
Another example is our agentic AI-powered personal tax tool, PETAR™ . It automates the extraction and categorisation of tax data from client documents; dramatically reducing adviser time spent on complex, manual processes.
The positive impact on UK accountancy firms has been notable. Here is what Emily Willis, Director at Larking Gowen LLP, says:
“PETAR™ has completely streamlined and transformed our tax compliance processes. What used to be a laborious and time-consuming task can now be dealt with swiftly and accurately without human input. The automation that’s been built in is seamless.
Our teams can now focus on some of the added value and strategic advisory work with our clients, as opposed to getting bogged down to some of the routine admin and repetitive data processing for tax compliance work.”
Adoption isn’t optional.
Agentic AI is accelerating from pilot to production across UK firms, transforming full workflow automation, real-time compliance, and advisory augmentation.
The biggest shift we’ve seen is from curiosity to urgency. Eighteen months ago, Agentic AI was largely viewed as a future opportunity. Now, it’s a boardroom topic. Partners aren’t asking if they should explore AI, they’re asking how fast they can scale it.
- Wolters Kluwer: 6% of accountancy leaders deploy Agentic AI today, 38% will within 12 months
- MarketsandMarkets: Early adopters report substantial efficiency gains and risk reduction
- ATT–CIOT 2025: Half of UK tax professionals are actively using or evaluating Agentic AI
Your strategic move is now
The question for tax practice leaders isn’t whether Agentic AI will reshape the profession, it’s whether they’ll lead that transformation or react to it.
Early movers are already capturing the benefits: enhanced productivity, reduced costs, improved client outcomes, and crucially, better staff engagement as routine work shifts to meaningful advisory services.
For practices still evaluating their options, the window for competitive advantage is narrowing.
The technology exists, the business case is proven, and the market is moving. The only question is how quickly tax practices can adapt their operating models to harness this new capability.
Next week: We’ll examine the practical considerations for implementing Agentic AI from choosing the right partners to ensuring sustainable transformation.