AR is on the cusp of its biggest transformation in decades. In 2025, AI will accelerate its metamorphosis from back-office afterthought to front-and-center revenue driver.
A year in the trenches helping clients reduce DSO and boost collections have given us a front-row seat to this evolution. Here are five bold predictions for what 2025 has in store for AR.
1. AI-driven credit risk scoring will revolutionize AR strategies
Traditional credit scoring is ripe for disruption. It’s static, often outdated, and reliant on lagging indicators.
That’s set to change this year. AI models will revolutionize credit scoring by dynamically assessing customer credit risk. These models ingest far more data than any human team could manage alone. From traditional credit reports and financial statements to real-time market data, social media sentiment, and even supply chain insights, AI assistants provide a far more accurate and up-to-the-minute view of a customer's financial health.
Wall Street is already on board—market research firms like S&P Global are using “AI to collect, cleanse, screen, test, and ultimately integrate firms' digital footprints in [their] credit risk models…[with] a series of automatic and timely signals will help users to assess, monitor and effectively manage credit risk.”
What’s the upshot for AR teams? Because they know how their customers are faring at any given moment, they can preempt potential non-payments by adjusting terms on the fly. For example, let’s say an AI model detects a disruption—maybe it’s a sudden drop in a customer's stock price, a surge in negative online reviews, or a critical supply chain snag. AR teams get an immediate heads-up, allowing them to proactively offer extended payment terms or adjust credit limits in real time.
Furthermore, AI will bridge the gap between AR and revenue generation. These models push key risk information upstream to sales and legal, preventing bad contracts with customers who have outstanding balances or poor credit. This prevents downstream issues and protects revenue from the get-go.
2. AI assistants will create a frictionless AR portal experience
For all the benefits that AR portals bring to the payment process (self-service options, readily-available data), they often create just as many problems. Customers are forced to navigate a maze of different portals, each with its own unique login credentials, user interface, and payment options. Any AR professional that’s been on the other side knows that it’s a frustrating and inefficient experience, to say the least.
As portal adoption rises in 2025, the need for a unified solution is evident. AI assistants are that solution, offering a single, consistent point of contact for all AR interactions. Unlike brittle robotic process automation (RPA) solutions that stumble when things go off script, these assistants can adapt to new information on the fly. It’s like having your own AR concierge.
Here’s a practical example: imagine a customer needs to download copies of invoices from three different vendors. Instead of logging into three separate portals and manually downloading each invoice, they simply ask the AI assistant, "Download all outstanding invoices from Company A, B, and C." The AI assistant then retrieves the invoices from each portal and compiles them into a single, easily accessible file.
3. Disputes and claims will be almost fully automated
Disputes and claims are a major drain on AR resources. Data from Versapay show that “nearly one third of accounts receivable teams’ days are spent resolving invoice disputes.”
Manually managing deductions is a slog—countless hours spent sifting through paperwork, contacting customers, and reconciling discrepancies. Current deduction management tools offer little relief. Disputes are inherently complex, and these tools lack the sophistication needed to handle intricate scenarios.
Automated dispute and claim resolution, powered by intelligent AI assistants, is a much more compelling alternative. Order details, shipping information, contractual obligations, customer feedback…these tools can churn through a much wider set of information than teams could handle manually. This gives them the valuable context required to rapidly validate claims, pinpoint the source of the issue, and initiate appropriate action, such as automated adjustments, credit memos, or escalations for human review.
Consider a scenario AR teams encounter on a regular basis: customer invoice disputes due to price discrepancies. The AI assistant instantly accesses the original purchase order, the sales contract, and the product's pricing history. If a promotional discount was applied at the time of order but isn’t reflected on the invoice, the AI automatically generates a credit memo, notifying both the customer and the AR team. This entire process occurs without any manual intervention, drastically reducing resolution time and freeing up AR staff for higher-value work.
4. New integrations will fast-track cash flow
B2B payments have always lagged behind B2C, but the gap has widened in recent years—a whopping 42% of B2B payments are still made via paper check, compared to the 71% of B2C payments that are done digitally.
Executives are tired of slow, manual processes that tie up cash and create unnecessary overhead. They’re looking for the same speed efficiency they’re used to as consumers.
Direct integrations between your financial rails and AR operations will be critical for closing this gap in 2025. Automation will be the catalyst—nine out of 10 businesses with automated AR processes get paid faster than their counterparts. Direct connections to payment processors, banks, and other financial players will enable instant payment confirmation and eliminate manual data entry and matching—giving you unprecedented control over incoming cash and providing a crystal-clear, up-to-the-minute view of your financial position.
Picture this: a customer initiates a wire transfer. The system instantly captures the payment, links it to the right invoice, and updates your ledgers in real time. No more waiting for bank statements or manually reconciling payments—just immediate visibility and faster access to your cash.
Plus, faster transactions lead to better user experiences. As noted by PYMNTS, “a good user experience can help create a more profitable and loyal B2B partner base.”
5. AR and revenue teams will work as one
As the back end of AR—collections, payments, deductions, and cash application—becomes increasingly streamlined via automation, AR teams will shift their focus to more up-funnel issues that hinder collections. This means tearing down the walls between AR, sales, account management, and customer service.
Intelligent automation is the connective tissue that brings these teams closer together. Think of it as a central nervous system, gathering intel from every corner of the business: customer interactions, sales activity, shipping logs…you name it.
Take a customer who questions an invoice because of a perceived service issue. Instead of a chaotic back-and-forth between departments, the system automatically digs into service tickets, sales reports, and customer communications to uncover the root cause. It might reveal a recurring product defect or just a simple misunderstanding.
Once it identifies the core issue, it can suggest (and execute) targeted solutions, like proactive customer outreach or changes to service protocols. It can also gather information from multiple teams to improve internal communication, allowing for faster resolution and preventing similar issues down the line.
Make risk mitigation your strategic advantage
Don’t let retrospective credit management hold you back in 2025. Take control of your credit risk with AI-driven intelligence and dynamic strategies that hit the risk/reward sweet spot. Chat with Stuut today to get started.