Why More Accounting Pros Aren't Leveraging AI's Full Power

The accounting profession, like so many others, is caught in a frenzied paradox. News and updates on AI are everywhere, yet the profession is not leveraging AI beyond basic automation.

Recent OpenAI reports show that 73% of ChatGPT usage happens for personal, non-work tasks, and that’s up from 53% just last year.

On the other hand, businesses are routing 77% of their Claude API AI activity squarely into task automation and not collaboration or creative problem-solving. This represents a lot of missed opportunities.

For accounting professionals, these numbers demand not just attention, but curiosity and action. Why? Because the real story isn’t about simply automating traditional workflows and crunching numbers faster. Rather, it’s about the deeper power of AI to transform firms via collaboration and forward thinking. It’s about using AI to make firms better, not just faster.

The Great Divide

The most telling insight from these reports is that while more individuals are adopting AI as their day-to-day thinking partner — using it to seek advice, make decisions and explore ideas — businesses are overwhelmingly focused on AI as an automation engine only.

This means that firms are relying on AI to hand off repeatable tasks while the creative, advisory and strategic areas remain isolated from meaningful AI support.

To hit this point home, let’s break down personal and work use a bit more:

• Personal use: The leading AI use case at home is practical guidance. This includes learning new skills, planning workouts or meals and solving personal challenges. AI is being put to the test to help lower friction and make our personal lives better.
• Work use: In-office use is mostly limited to automation like coding, scheduling and admin tasks, leaving little room for experimentation or partnership in decision-making. This automation-first mindset, while efficient for rote processes, often sidelines AI from the collaborative advisory work where it can deliver the greatest value.

And why the divide? Well, a lot of reasons, and here are a few big ones:

At home:

• No one's watching how you prompt
• You don't need permission to try something new
• Every success directly benefits you, whether it’s a refined workout routine, a new household budget or an enhanced nutrition plan
• There’s no “right way” to prompt holding you back from being creative

At work:

• People worry about looking incompetent so they keep prompts simple and focused on basic automation
• There are IT restrictions and tool limitations
• The expectations about when/how to use AI are unclear
• Many fear that using AI threatens their expertise

Simply put, AI use in the professional setting appears to be a behavior issue rather than a technical problem.

The Barriers (And Why They Matter)

The accounting profession faces key barriers to full AI adoption, including:

1. The automation trap: Too many firms see AI as a vending machine — input task, get output, move on. While this works for narrow use cases, it's not where future-ready client service or firm strategy is created. Accountants using AI at home treat it as a brainstorming partner, not just a replacement for manual labor. Firms must unlock this same dynamic at work, inviting AI into planning, advisory and client strategy sessions.
2. Incentive misalignment: At home, AI directly benefits the individual. At work, ambiguity is in play: Will using AI make me look replaceable? Is mastery of AI tools valued or quietly discouraged? Until leaders unequivocally signal that AI proficiency is a career must-have, not a threat, accounting pros will continue to hesitate.
3. The behavior gap: This isn’t a technology problem. It’s a daily habit problem. Accountants are great at their jobs so the instinct to ask AI for support simply hasn’t taken root. Building new routines, like consulting AI for that thorny client question or using it to debrief after a tough meeting, requires intentional practice. Just one task, every day, until it feels as natural as launching Excel.

The Way Forward

There’s no silver bullet, but there is a clear way ahead for accounting leaders and their teams:

• Lower the friction: Allow safe, permission-free AI experimentation inside the firm. The same curiosity professionals show at home needs to be welcomed and rewarded at work.
• Align the incentives: Explicitly recognize and reward AI proficiency. Tie it to advancement, bonuses and high-value client work. Make it part of the firm's DNA.
• Build the habit: Shift from aspiration to routine. One meaningful use of AI every day grows into new instincts, better questions and, ultimately, more valuable client outcomes.

This isn’t about digital transformation for its own sake. It’s about making AI a genuine partner in the pursuit of smarter leadership, better advisory and deeper human connection. It’s the difference between watching the parade and leading it from the front.

For firms and practitioners willing to close the divide, the next leap in advisory excellence is just one new habit away.