AI in professional services: How accountants and lawyers can unlock greater value

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an increasingly important part of the professional services landscape. Tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini and Claude are already helping organisations draft content, analyse information, summarise documents and improve day-to-day productivity.

For accountancy and legal firms, the opportunity extends far beyond saving time. Used effectively, AI can help professionals work more efficiently, improve the consistency of routine tasks and dedicate more time to the advice, judgement and relationships that create the greatest value for clients.

However, successful adoption requires a clear understanding of what AI can do, where it can add value and where human expertise must remain central.

Why AI matters to professional services firms

Professional services organisations rely heavily on knowledge, information and specialist expertise. Accountants and lawyers routinely work with large volumes of financial data, technical guidance, contracts, correspondence and regulatory material.

Many of the tasks involved in processing this information are time-consuming but relatively repetitive. These may include summarising lengthy documents, preparing first drafts, organising meeting notes, reviewing data or identifying key points within technical material.

Generative AI can support these activities by producing and restructuring content in response to natural-language instructions. Instead of navigating numerous sources manually or beginning every document from a blank page, professionals can use AI to create a starting point that can then be reviewed and refined.

This does not remove the need for technical knowledge. In many cases, it makes that knowledge even more important. Professionals still need to assess the quality of an AI-generated response, identify gaps and apply the relevant commercial, legal or financial context.

Moving from routine preparation to higher-value advice

One of the most significant opportunities presented by AI is the ability to reduce the time spent on preparation.

For accountants, this could mean spending less time producing routine commentary and more time helping clients understand financial performance, cash flow pressures or strategic options.

For lawyers, it could mean reducing the administrative burden of reviewing and summarising documents, creating more time for negotiation, risk assessment and client advice.

This shift allows professionals to focus on areas where human experience remains particularly valuable, including:

• Interpreting complex or incomplete information;
• Understanding a client’s wider objectives;
• Exercising professional and ethical judgement;
• Identifying commercial risks and opportunities;
• Communicating difficult conclusions clearly; and
• Building trusted client relationships.

As AI becomes more capable, the distinction between preparing information and interpreting it is likely to become increasingly important. Technology may support the production of an initial analysis, but professionals remain responsible for deciding what that analysis means and how it should be applied.

AI as an assistant, not an authority

AI is often most useful when it is treated as a capable but inexperienced assistant.

It can generate ideas, draft material and organise information quickly, but it does not understand a client, transaction or dispute in the same way as an experienced adviser. It can also provide incorrect information with a high degree of confidence.

For this reason, AI should not have the final authority over professional work. Its outputs need to be checked, challenged and improved by someone with the appropriate expertise.

A helpful way to approach AI is to consider which parts of a task can be accelerated and which parts require professional ownership.

For example, AI may be able to:

• Create an initial structure for a report;
• Summarise a set of meeting notes;
• Suggest questions for a client discussion;
• Identify themes within financial commentary; or
• Draft a routine communication.

The professional must still confirm that the information is accurate, relevant and appropriate for the intended audience.

The changing expectations of clients

Clients are also becoming more familiar with AI and its potential. As a result, they may increasingly expect advisers to use technology to deliver services more efficiently.

This does not necessarily mean that clients want less human involvement. In many cases, the opposite is true. If technology reduces the time required for administrative work, clients may expect more responsive communication, clearer insight and more proactive advice.

The firms that benefit most from AI are therefore unlikely to be those that simply produce work faster. They will be the firms that use increased efficiency to strengthen the quality of the client experience.

This could include:

• Responding more quickly to routine enquiries;
• Presenting information in a clearer and more accessible format;
• Identifying issues earlier;
• Tailoring communications for different audiences; and
• Creating more time for meaningful client conversations.

Building confidence gradually

Professional services firms do not need to transform every process at once.

A gradual approach can help teams understand the strengths and limitations of AI while reducing risk. Firms may begin with low-risk internal activities, such as drafting agendas, summarising internal meetings or generating ideas for non-confidential content.

Once teams have developed confidence and suitable controls are in place, AI can be introduced into more complex workflows.

The aim should not be to use AI simply because it is available. Firms should focus on areas where it solves a genuine problem, reduces unnecessary administration or improves the delivery of client work.

What does the future professional look like?

The professionals who benefit most from AI will combine technical expertise with the ability to use technology effectively.

This does not mean that accountants and lawyers need to become software developers. It means understanding how to provide clear instructions, assess AI-generated information and recognise when the technology is not appropriate.

Professional judgement, curiosity and communication skills will remain essential. AI can process information quickly, but it cannot replicate the trust, experience and contextual understanding that sit at the heart of professional advice.

Rather than diminishing the role of advisers, AI has the potential to make that role more focused on the areas where people add the greatest value.

Key takeaways

AI can help professional services firms reduce routine administration and improve productivity, but its greatest value lies in creating more time for insight, judgement and client service.

Accountants and lawyers should view AI as an assistant rather than an authority. Its outputs must be reviewed by professionals who understand the relevant technical and commercial context.

Firms that adopt AI gradually and strategically will be better placed to improve efficiency while strengthening the value they deliver to clients.

This article is based on the webinar AI for accountants and lawyers – How professional services firms can improve performance, when Dr Stephen Hill, an AI trainer and consultant with more than 25 years’ experience in fraud, forensic accounting and digital investigations, explored how accountants and lawyers can adopt AI responsibly.

The session covered the latest AI tools, practical use cases, effective prompting techniques, emerging technologies and the governance considerations firms should address before implementation.