Singapore – Xero and Anthropic have announced a multi-year partnership aimed at bringing AI-powered financial intelligence to small businesses and their advisors.
Under the agreement, Anthropic’s AI assistant Claude will be integrated directly into Xero’s platform, while Xero’s financial data and tools will also be accessible within Claude.ai. The companies said the collaboration will allow users to monitor financial data, generate insights, and act on recommendations in real time.
“Every day, millions of small business owners ask the same questions: Why is cash tight this month? Which invoices are overdue? Can I afford to hire?” said Diya Jolly, chief product & technology officer at Xero. “To run their business efficiently, small business owners and their accountants and bookkeepers need to be able to answer these questions and act on them in real time whether using Xero or Claude. This partnership delivers on that.”
The integration marks the first time Xero customers will be able to work with their financial data directly inside a major AI platform. The companies said the move is intended to support end-to-end financial workflows for small businesses, reducing the need for manual processes such as tracking invoices or compiling cash flow reports.
According to the companies, the integration will introduce several new features. One of them is Claude-powered automation within Xero, allowing users to manage financial tasks across accounting, payroll, and payments. Xero’s AI assistant, JAX (Just Ask Xero), will use Claude’s reasoning capabilities to analyse revenue and profit performance, track cash flow in real time, and identify unpaid invoices while recommending potential actions.
Another feature will allow customers to access Xero data directly inside Claude.ai for analysis and business planning. By combining financial data—such as revenue, profit, and outstanding invoices—with external market trends or internal plans, users will be able to evaluate different business scenarios, including year-end financial positions. The companies said the system will eventually allow users to trigger and complete financial workflows with a single click.
The partnership will also incorporate data governance measures. Xero said financial data shared between platforms will be used only during a user’s session and will not be used to train Anthropic’s AI models.
Diya Jolly said: “Small businesses and advisors don’t just need data; they need a digital partner that acts on it. Integrating Claude moves Xero into agentic workflows, where Xero’s AI superagent, JAX (Just Ask Xero), does the heavy lifting, from predicting cash flow gaps to executing complex financial tasks. Crucially, this trusted intelligence isn’t locked into one platform; it follows the user securely wherever they choose to work, empowering advisor collaboration. By shifting the admin burden to a team of agents orchestrated by JAX, we’re giving our customers time back and providing them with clarity so they can make informed decisions and focus on the future.”
“Xero has spent 20 years building the financial platform that millions of small businesses depend on. Claude brings a reasoning layer to that foundation. Now, instead of spending hours trying to make sense of their financials on top of everything else it takes to run a business, customers get clear answers and recommended actions in real time. This provides small businesses and their advisors with the kind of financial intelligence that used to require a dedicated analyst or CFO,” said Chris Ciauri, managing director of International at Anthropic.
The companies said the Claude-powered insights within Xero and the integration of Xero experiences into Claude.ai are expected to become available in the coming months. As part of the agreement, Xero’s engineering teams will also use Anthropic’s Claude and Cowork tools to support and accelerate product development.
