Photo by Stefan Cosma on Unsplash
Most companies are still trying to make chatbots useful. Intuit, though? They walked away from chatbots entirely—and built something smarter.
Hi, I’m a tech nerd, and I love a good “what-if” story. Like, what if customer service didn’t rely on robotic chat scripts? What if software didn’t wait for us to click around, but actually got things done for us?
That’s exactly what Intuit—a company best known for TurboTax, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp—asked themselves. And their answer turned into a whole new way of thinking about AI.
So much so that they’ve stopped using the usual chatbot crutch entirely.
Let’s unpack what they did, why it matters, and how you might try it, too.
Goodbye, Chatbots. Hello, Agentic AI.
First, the basics. Intuit recently shared how they ditched traditional chatbots and replaced them with “AI agents.” These are not your average chat pop-ups. They don’t just give you canned responses or point you to help articles.
Instead, they’re designed to actually do things—whether that means refiling a tax return or updating business finances in QuickBooks. Think of them as teammates, not just answer-machines.
And here’s the twist: Intuit didn’t build these tools to show off some futuristic tech. They built them to solve customers’ real problems faster and better.
This shift from reactive chatbots to proactive, capable AI agents is what they call an “agentic” approach.
Photo by JC Gellidon on Unsplash
What’s an Agentic AI, Anyway?
Let’s break that down. Instead of a chatbot waiting for input and offering limited replies, an agentic AI does something more interesting:
- It understands context
- It takes initiative
- It makes decisions within boundaries you’ve defined
Picture this: You run a small business and notice your cash flow looks off. With an AI agent in QuickBooks, you don’t just ask, “What’s wrong?”—you get a breakdown, possible causes, and suggested actions. And then it goes ahead and executes what you approve.
You’re looped in—not left out, not overwhelmed. It’s collaborative, not just automatic.
How Intuit Pulled This Off
So how does a company transition from chatbot scripts to giving AI decision-making powers?
Intuit didn’t just wing it. They developed a repeatable system—a playbook, really.
And though they haven’t published all the code or tools, they shared the core steps. Here’s the essence of their method:
- Start with a real problem
Find a painful, repetitive task users struggle with. Ask: “What’s a job they expect done for them?” - Define the agent’s boundaries
Set clear limits on what the AI can and can’t do. Intuit calls this “guardrails with autonomy.” It’s not about handing the AI the keys—it’s about letting it drive down familiar roads. - Obsess over outcomes
The goal isn’t just a cool conversation—it’s real-world results. The agent only succeeds if it finishes the task correctly. - Design for collaboration, not control
Customers stay in the loop. They can approve or reject actions and always see what’s happening. - Keep learning from real usage
These agents improve not by theory but through cycles of customer feedback and updates.
Why This Matters
This shift poses an important question for any tech builder: Are we making things that talk pretty, or things that actually work?
It’s not just about AI sounding smart. It’s about AI doing the heavy lifting we wish we didn’t have to do ourselves.
That’s a lesson worth paying attention to—whether you’re designing software or just picking tools to use.
Photo by Rubaitul Azad on Unsplash
TL;DR: What You Can Take Away
Intuit’s approach shows there’s a smarter way to build with AI:
- Don’t settle for lifeless chatbots
- Build agents that act, not just answer
- Anchor the tech in real user problems
- Focus on outcomes, not just interactions
- Design for responsible autonomy
So if you’re building something—or thinking of integrating AI—maybe ask yourself the same thing Intuit did…
What if the software could actually go do the work?
That’s the kind of AI shift that’s worth watching.
📝 Written for Yugto.io – exploring the edge of tech, AI, and data with curious minds in mind.
