How to Add AI to Sage ERP and Automate Business Workflows

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a standard part of ERPs, including Sage. Adding AI to your existing ERP essentially supercharges your existing workflows and data, allowing you to streamline processes, improve operations, and make better decisions.

Sage has quickly moved to take advantage of the increased efficiencies AI has to offer. The company has taken steps to embed AI directly into its products via Sage CoPilot, as well as other specialized AI agents and AI-powered capabilities. In addition, it has built pathways for its customers and partners to augment their Sage ERP applications with external third-party AI tools and customized workflows.

Taken together, these efforts mean that companies using Sage products are well-placed to expand their ERP’s capabilities using AI. Companies can use or add AI to their ERP platform in any way they need, meaning they aren’t limited to pre-built functionality.

There’s no single way to use AI within your Sage ERP application. The best approach to incorporating AI functionality into your existing workflows depends on your company’s needs. That’s where we come in. Our team of Sage and AI experts will help you determine the right approach and AI tools that will deliver the best performance for your business.

Contact us today to explore how AI can automate workflows, connect business systems, and help your team get more from Sage.

Key Takeaways

• Sage is making AI a native part of its ERP ecosystem, with Sage CoPilot, specialized AI agents, and AI-powered capabilities built into products such as Sage 100, Sage Intacct, and Sage X3.
• AI can automate Sage ERP workflows such as financial analysis, invoice processing, reconciliation, reporting, sales intelligence, and other repetitive, data-driven processes.
• Businesses can extend Sage ERP with external AI applications when native Sage AI does not address a specific business requirement or customized workflow.
• APIs and AI gateways can connect AI applications with Sage ERP data, allowing businesses to build customized AI workflows while controlling access to ERP information.
• Middleware can connect Sage ERP, AI applications, and other business systems, making it possible to automate workflows that span multiple platforms.
• Native Sage AI and custom AI integrations can work together. Businesses can use Sage’s built-in AI capabilities for supported processes while extending their ERP with customized AI workflows where needed.
• The best AI implementation starts with a specific business process. Identify repetitive or data-intensive workflows, determine how AI can improve them, and then choose between native Sage AI, an integration, or a combination of both.

Table of Contents

1. Why Add AI to Sage ERP?
2. How Is Sage Adding AI to Its ERP Products?
3. What Can AI Automate in Sage ERP?
4. How Can You Extend Sage ERP with AI?
5. Using APIs and AI Gateways to Connect AI with Sage
6. Using Middleware to Build AI Workflows Around Sage ERP
7. Sage ERP AI Use Cases for Business Automation
8. How to Choose Between Native Sage AI and Custom AI Integration
9. How to Get Started with AI and Sage ERP
10. Contact Us
11. Add AI to Sage ERP FAQs

Why Add AI to Sage ERP?

If you’re already using Sage, your ERP likely serves as the backbone of your business, centralizing data and managing operations from a single location. Many companies struggle to turn the information stored in their ERP into useful insights and actions without relying on manual data analysis.

That’s where AI comes in. Adding AI tools to your Sage environment can help you quickly identify information that needs attention and automate parts of repetitive workflows.

AI can assist with many ERP-related tasks, including:

• Answering questions about business information
• Summarizing financial and operational data
• Identifying unusual transactions or potential issues
• Processing invoices and other documents
• Automating reconciliations
• Supporting financial close activities
• Analyzing sales, inventory, and customer information
• Providing alerts about risks or opportunities
• Automating repetitive workflows

Sage already uses AI for many of these purposes, and the necessary functionality may already be a native part of your Sage platform. If it isn’t or if you need help configuring Sage’s AP capabilities, we’re here to help.

How Is Sage Adding AI to Its ERP Products?

As we previously mentioned, Sage is embedding AI directly into its ERP products and workflows.

Sage CoPilot is an AI-powered assistant embedded directly into Sage software. It helps users find information, answer questions, and work with business data.

The company is also expanding its AI offerings to include specialized agents designed for specific processes, such as agents for accounts payable, financial assurance, and month-end close. AI agents provide operational insights across finance, sales, and supply chain operations. Sage offers AI-assisted search and prompt-based application building with agent-based workflow automation, allowing you to create applications and automate workflows within your existing Sage solution.

Critically, Sage is becoming an AI-native platform, including the ability to create and automate workflows.

What Can AI Automate in Sage ERP?

While Sage now includes native AI functionality, the type of automation available depends on which Sage product you use and the types of AI workflows you wish to implement.

You can do some AI automation directly within Sage, while other workflows require you to connect Sage with additional applications or AI tools.

Here are some of the workflows that AI can assist with, depending on your ERP and its capabilities:

Accounts payable

You can use AI to capture and process invoice information, assist with approvals, and support reconciliation. Sage’s AP Agent is designed to automate portions of this process.

Financial reconciliation and close

AI agents can help identify discrepancies, track outstanding tasks, and support the month-end close process.

Business insights

AI can analyze business information and surface trends, anomalies, risks, or opportunities that might otherwise require employees to manually review reports and data.

Sales and operations

AI can monitor orders, inventory, customer demand, and other operational information to identify changes that may require attention.

Document processing

AI can extract and classify information from documents and incorporate that information into your workflows.

Customized business workflows

You can also use AI as part of workflows designed around your processes, especially when native Sage functionality does not address a particular requirement.

If Sage’s native AI capabilities don’t provide the functionality you need, it may be time to turn to integrations, extensibility, and third-party extensions.

How Can You Extend Sage ERP with AI?

While Sage includes some native Sage AI features, it’s also working to build the platform’s AI integration capabilities.

You may have processes that are specific to your industry, business model, or existing technology environment. You may also want to use an AI application that performs a specialized function that isn’t available in your Sage application.

If you need functionality that can’t be provided by native Sage AI functionality, you can connect third-party AI tools to Sage using APIs, AI connectivity tools, development platforms, or integration solutions.

Sage is actively developing this type of AI extensibility to allow businesses to create custom AI workflows outside the core Sage platform while maintaining controls over how AI applications access financial data.

Native Sage AI provides intelligence and automation directly within Sage, while extended AI workflows allow businesses and partners to build additional applications and processes around Sage.

You can use both Sage’s native AI functionality and extend the ERP with customized AI workflows using third-party applications.

Using APIs and AI Gateways to Connect AI with Sage

There are several ways you can incorporate additional AI functionality within your Sage ERP, including APIs, middleware, and AI gateways.

APIs allow software applications to exchange information according to defined rules. They can provide the technical connection between your Sage platform and the external AI application. An AI application could retrieve permitted information from Sage, analyze that information, and return a result that is incorporated into another workflow.

Sage is making this type of integration more structured through APIs that provide external AI applications with access to Sage data while providing role-based permissions and governance.

The specific integration options differ based on the Sage product, so before you begin adding third-party AI tools to your ERP, you should evaluate what APIs, development tools, and AI capabilities are available within your specific platform.

Using Middleware to Build AI Workflows Around Sage ERP

You can also use middleware to incorporate AI into your Sage workflows. Instead of connecting Sage directly to the third-party AI tool, an integration platform sits between them, connecting the two platforms. This middleware moves information between systems, transforms data, applies business rules, and coordinates workflows.

A workflow involving middleware might look like:

Sage ERP → integration platform → AI application → integration platform → Sage ERP

The integration platform could determine which Sage information is sent to the AI application, process the AI response, and determine what happens next. This approach is particularly useful when AI is only one part of a larger business workflow.

Middleware can coordinate the movement of information between multiple systems, such as Sage, your eCommerce platform or shipping system, and the third-party AI agent.

If you have existing integration infrastructure already incorporated with Sage, AI can become another component within an established workflow rather than a completely separate system.

Sage ERP AI Use Cases for Business Automation

The most valuable AI applications are usually tied to specific business problems rather than simply adding AI for its own sake. The most important question isn’t simply, “How can we use AI?” It’s, “Which business process would benefit from having AI understand our ERP data and take or recommend the next action?”

Focusing on the specific processes and workflows that could benefit from AI will lead to much more practical AI implementations.

Many companies use AI to:

• Analyze information from Sage and identify exceptions that require attention instead of requiring employees to manually review every record
• Process and reconcile invoices
• Monitor sales, inventory, orders, and customer demand and identify potential problems earlier
• Summarize financial information, identify anomalies, or assist with the close process

You can also build customized workflows around your existing Sage environment.

How to Choose Between Native Sage AI and Custom AI Integration

As we’ve previously covered, you may not have to choose between Sage’s native AI capabilities and customized AI integrations. You can easily deploy both.

If you’re choosing between native Sage AI functionality or third-party AI tools, you should first determine whether Sage already provides the functionality you need.

Use native Sage AI if the AI capability you need is already available in your Sage product and fits the way your employees work. If Sage doesn’t have the functionality you need, it’s time to consider a third-party AI tool or an AI integration.  

Depending on your company’s needs, you could create an AI workflow that combines native Sage AI functionality with customized integrations to address other requirements. Sage itself is actively supporting this type of hybrid model.

The right choice depends on where AI provides the most value to your workflows.

How to Get Started with AI and Sage ERP

If you’re just getting started with adding AI to your Sage environment, we recommend starting with a specific business process. Identify processes or workflows where employees spend large amounts of time on repetitive manual tasks like data entry or reviewing data, and then identify how AI can help.

Consider factors including:

• What data the AI needs
• Where that data resides
• What the AI should do with it
• Whether the AI should recommend an action or take one
• What approvals or controls are required
• Whether Sage already provides the necessary AI capability
• Whether an external application or customized integration is needed

We always recommend considering Sage’s native AI functionality before turning to third-party tools or integrations.

Our expert team is here to help. We specialize in helping businesses optimize workflows using traditional ERP and AI technology. If you’re exploring how AI can work with your Sage environment, contact us to discuss your requirements.

Contact Us

Add AI to Sage ERP FAQs

How can you add AI to Sage ERP?

You can add AI to Sage ERP by using built-in capabilities such as Sage CoPilot and specialized AI agents, or by connecting third-party AI applications through APIs, middleware, and other integration tools. The best approach depends on your Sage product, business requirements, and the workflows you want to automate.

Does Sage ERP have built-in AI?

Sage is incorporating AI into its products through Sage CoPilot, specialized AI agents, and other AI-powered capabilities. The available functionality varies by Sage product, so you should evaluate which features your specific ERP supports before investing in additional AI tools.

What Sage ERP tasks can AI automate?

AI can assist with accounts payable, invoice processing, financial reconciliation, reporting, sales analysis, inventory monitoring, document processing, and other repetitive workflows. The tasks you can automate depend on your Sage ERP product, available AI capabilities, and integration requirements.

Can you integrate ChatGPT or other AI tools with Sage ERP?

You can connect external AI applications to Sage ERP using APIs, middleware, and other integration tools, provided the required interfaces and capabilities are available. These integrations can allow AI applications to analyze permitted Sage data, return insights, and support customized business workflows.

What is the difference between native Sage AI and custom AI integration?

Native Sage AI consists of AI capabilities built into Sage products, such as assistants and specialized agents, while custom AI integrations connect Sage to external AI applications to support requirements that native features may not address. You can combine both approaches to automate your existing workflows and build additional functionality.

How does middleware connect AI to Sage ERP?

Middleware acts as an integration layer between Sage ERP and external AI applications. It transfers information between systems, transforms data, applies business rules, and coordinates workflows. Middleware is especially useful when an AI workflow involves Sage and other business systems, such as eCommerce platforms or shipping software.

Is it secure to connect AI applications to Sage ERP?

AI integrations should use appropriate access controls, permissions, and data governance to protect sensitive ERP information. You should evaluate which data an AI application can access, what actions it can perform, and which approvals are required. The available security and governance features depend on the Sage product and integration architecture.

How do you choose the right AI integration for Sage ERP?

Start by identifying a specific business process that would benefit from automation. Determine what data the AI needs, where that data resides, what actions the AI should take, and what controls are necessary. Then evaluate whether Sage’s built-in AI capabilities meet the requirement or whether an external AI application, middleware, or a combination of approaches is needed.

Can you use AI with Sage 100, Sage Intacct, and Sage X3?

AI options vary across Sage 100, Sage Intacct, and Sage X3. You should evaluate the native AI functionality, APIs, development tools, and integration options available for your specific product. Where supported, external AI applications can extend existing workflows beyond the functionality provided natively.

What are the benefits of integrating AI with Sage ERP?

Integrating AI with Sage ERP can help you automate repetitive tasks, analyze financial and operational data, identify exceptions, improve reporting, and coordinate workflows across business systems. The greatest benefits typically come from addressing specific operational bottlenecks rather than adding AI without a defined business objective.