Confidence is the new currency in the AI economy

Ciarán Quilty is Senior Vice-President for International at Intuit.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION has flooded business leaders with tools, but what it hasn’t delivered consistently is confidence.

That gap matters more than ever now in the rising AI economy. Above adoption and access is confidence. Despite clear evidence that AI is already driving results, adoption is far from universal. In Canada, small businesses using AI are 16 times more likely to report revenue growth (32%) compared to just 2% who report a decline; yet a full third (31%) still aren’t using AI at all, and nearly half of those are only “considering” adoption.                        

Because leaders aren’t struggling with information, the real challenge is  noise: data points with no priority, dashboards without context, and ultimately, insights that land too late or vaguely to guide real decisions.

The result is something quieter than failure: hesitation.

What confidence actually looks like

It’s easy to treat confidence like a personal trait. But in business, it’s a system-level outcome that comes from seeing what’s changed, knowing what matters, and acting early, before issues pile up.

This is where AI shows real promise. Not just automation at scale, that’s a given, but it’s about surfacing signals leaders didn’t know to look for.

We’ve seen this already. One SMB leader sends out an invoice. Before hitting send, an AI agent flags the customer’s consistent late payments and suggests a late fee. The change takes seconds but improves the chance of on-time payment tenfold.

More than a clever feature this is something designed to be relevant to the needs of the business, and this is what builds confidence. Because it shows up at the right moment, with a specific, financially relevant prompt, the system provides support, earning trust while turning technology into partnership.

The stack that works: AI and human expertise

Technology doesn’t build trust alone. While AI adoption among SMBs is rising, with 62% now using AI regularly, significant skill gaps remain. Only 12% have invested in formal AI training, even though more than half identify lack of skills as a key barrier to adoption. This highlights why the best results come from combining AI with human expertise.  When AI and human advice work in tandem they help spot patterns, guide better decisions, and give business leaders the clarity and confidence to act decisively.

Decision-support agents are already shifting what’s possible. They flag anomalies, suggest actions, and scale insight without adding weight, but they still leave room for human instinct and judgment. The point isn’t to replace the leader but support them in the moments that matter.

Done right, this is how technology fades into the background, and true leadership moves forward.

This blend of AI and human insight is especially visible in fields like accounting, where professionals are redefining their role.

Accountants in the AI Economy: From Compliance to Confidence

Accounting exemplifies this evolution. Once seen primarily as number crunchers and compliance enforcers, accountants are stepping into more strategic roles powered by AI tools that automate the repetitive and illuminate the critical.

This evolving role is underscored by the fact that more than 1 in 8 businesses (12%) use AI because it was recommended by an accountant or consultant, highlighting the trusted advisory role these professionals now hold. Smarter accounting platforms are now learning from user behaviour to surface trends, flag potential risks, and help small businesses make faster, more informed financial decisions. AI-driven bookkeeping is especially prominent, with 26% of small businesses reporting AI use for bookkeeping, one of the top five AI applications alongside marketing, customer service, administrative tasks, and data processing. This shift allows accountants to move beyond reconciliations and reporting, offering forward-looking insight and advisory support.

In this new model, accountants become confidence partners, combining financial acumen with AI-powered foresight to help SMBs navigate uncertainty, act decisively, and grow with greater clarity. AI doesn’t replace the accountant. It amplifies their value when it matters most.

This growing partnership between accountants and AI not only transforms accounting but also strengthens SMB leadership confidence.

Reframing the question

The real question isn’t just how advanced the technology is; it’s whether it helps leaders move forward with confidence.

That confidence often comes from a powerful combination: AI agents surfacing key insights in real time, paired with trusted human advisors like accountants who interpret those signals and add essential context. Together, they create a layer of assurance that empowers better, faster decisions.

If the technology doesn’t help leaders feel confident in what to do next, it doesn’t need more features, it needs to focus sharply on what matters. The system should understand the decision at hand and deliver only the most relevant guidance, it’s not about offering more tools; it’s about providing clear orientation.

This is where digital support is headed. AI expands what’s possible, but its true value lies in narrowing the field so leaders and their advisors can focus on what truly drives the business. Instead of drowning in endless data, the system might say:

"You're 15% below target for the quarter. Based on past patterns, reaching out to these five customers could close the gap." This is AI and human expertise working hand-in-hand to turn information into confident action.

Ciarán Quilty is Senior Vice-President for International at Intuit. Ciarán is a technology and business leader with over 25 years' experience in software, consulting and digital. Following global roles at Meta and Accenture, Ciarán now serves as Senior Vice President at Intuit running the company's international business.

His journey, from software engineer to commercial leader, has been anchored to one goal — empowering small and medium-sized businesses worldwide to thrive through technology. Ciarán is bringing this goal to life at Intuit through the power of AI and development of a platform that small and medium-sized businesses can rely on every day to run and grow their business, driving their revenue and profitability.

Author photo and title image courtesy Intuit.