Basware has introduced new AI agents within its Invoice Lifecycle Management (ILM) platform, targeting autonomous accounts payable processing and real-time invoice dispute resolution.
The Finland-based company launched two new agents designed to manage invoice disputes and payment queries, and to assist accounts payable clerks with processing questions through natural language interaction. The release builds on InvoiceAI, which Basware launched in November 2024 and which brought generative AI, natural language processing, and deep learning to the invoice lifecycle from ingestion through to reconciliation.
Agent capabilities and governance model
The two agents now available are the Supplier Agent, which handles invoice disputes and payment queries by automating supplier communications, summarising call outcomes, and recording next steps. Additionally, the company launched the AP Pro Agent, which enables accounts payable clerks to resolve processing questions in real time using natural language queries. These follow two agents introduced with the InvoiceAI launch, namely the AP Business Agent, which provides contextual guidance on invoice handling, and the AP Data Agent, which allows users to interrogate invoice data using natural language, for example, querying outstanding approvals by country or early payment discounts by supplier.
Basware has structured its agentic AI implementation around a central policy engine and a series of autonomy gates, through which every agent action must pass before execution. The gates apply each customer's business rules, compliance requirements, and risk thresholds, intending to maintain a complete audit trail for every autonomous decision.
Market context and customer adoption
A survey of 200 finance leaders across the US, the UK, France, and Germany, conducted by FT Longitude on behalf of Basware, found that 61% of respondents had deployed AI agents primarily as an experiment, while one in four reported limited understanding of what an AI agent looks like in practice. Billerud, a paper and packaging materials company, cited quality improvements in invoice processing and a return on investment achieved within months of adopting InvoiceAI. Further AI capabilities are planned for rollout throughout 2026.
