72% of Finance Teams Are Already Using AI – Is AP Automation Next?

Finance teams are using more AI and automation than ever, but the real question is whether they make invoice-to-cash work faster, cleaner, and less error-prone.

The top goals of teams that manage the invoice-to-cash process remain the same – to shorten payment cycles and reduce outstanding balances.

A 2025 survey of nearly 800 AP and finance leaders conducted by Vic.ai found that 72% of finance teams already use AI in AP or finance – up from a fraction of that just two years ago. Another 82% plan to make new investments in the next 12 months. The data suggests AI in AP has moved past the pilot stage for most finance teams.

Automation Brings Faster Payments, Higher Efficiency

The three major benefits driving adoption remain consistent: increasing revenue by reducing invoice write-offs, boosting staff efficiency, and providing a real-time view of cash flow. Yet inefficiencies persist – 37% of finance teams still cite manual data entry as a top pain point, and 36% flag high processing costs. The promise of automation is to remove these manual tasks at scale.

AI is also proving to be a valuable tool for cutting credit risk. Credit departments are leaning on machine learning algorithms to analyze historical data and predict the likelihood of late payments or defaults, enabling proactive management of credit risk. According to the Protiviti 2025 Global Finance Trends Report, AI use in finance more than doubled in a single year – from 34% in 2024 to 72% in 2025. This surge was largely driven by generative AI tools moving from pilot to production.

2 Major Obstacles to Automation

The most significant barrier to automation is integration. Existing systems often lack the flexibility to connect with new automation tools, and finance teams that phase in automated functions gradually – working closely with vendors – tend to have the smoothest transitions.

Data security and privacy remain a top concern as adoption accelerates. With AI now embedded in core financial workflows for nearly three-quarters of finance teams, the risks of data breaches, unauthorized access, and compliance failures have grown alongside the benefits.