MYOB launches Iris AI layer for small business software

MYOB has launched Iris by MYOB, an artificial intelligence layer embedded across its software products. The move marks the company's latest effort to add AI tools to its business software for customers in Australia and New Zealand.

The system is being introduced through three features: guidance and action within day-to-day workflows, proactive insights drawn from business data, and conversational interactions through an embedded chat function called Ask Iris.

Iris sits within MYOB's existing products rather than as a separate application. It is designed to surface information across the platform and help customers make better use of the data, systems and workflows they already rely on.

Initial uses include AI BAS data preparation for review, smart reconciliation and category suggestions. The new layer will also support AI Business Insights, designed to identify opportunities, risks and next steps, while Ask Iris will let users query business data in natural language.

The launch comes as software groups serving small and medium-sized businesses add more AI functions to accounting, payroll and operational tools. Vendors are increasingly using embedded AI to automate routine work and present data in more accessible ways, while keeping business owners and advisers inside the systems they already use.

MYOB is positioning Iris as a foundation across its wider product portfolio, aiming to move beyond record-keeping and provide support that helps users act on information inside the software.

Paul Robson, Chief Executive Officer at MYOB, said the launch reflects what business customers now expect from software used to run day-to-day operations.

"Business owners today need and expect more help managing the day-to-day demands of running their business. Iris by MYOB responds to a core business priority: timely access to the right information and support to keep work moving forward.

"SMEs are looking for less complexity. They need the systems they already trust to become more useful, more connected and more responsive.

"Iris by MYOB makes AI an embedded part of the experience rather than a separate destination, helping businesses turn trusted data into decisions, and decisions into action," Robson said.

MYOB said the system is designed to adapt as a business changes, using data held within the platform to provide more tailored guidance, recommendations and insights over time. It added that business owners remain in control and that the system is intended to support human decision-making rather than replace it.

Product strategy

The move adds to a broader shift in the software market towards AI features built directly into finance and administration products. For providers targeting smaller businesses, the commercial case rests on making established systems more useful without requiring customers to adopt entirely new tools or workflows.

MYOB has framed that approach as "woven intelligence", with AI integrated through products already used by businesses and advisory firms. The company serves customers ranging from sole traders to firms with up to 1,000 employees, alongside accountants, bookkeepers and consultants.

That customer base gives MYOB a large set of financial and operational workflows in which to introduce AI features. MYOB said Iris combines AI with business data already held in its systems so users can spend less time searching for information and more time acting on it.

Robson said the company's long-standing position in the Australia and New Zealand market underpins its approach to AI development.

"For more than 35 years, MYOB has helped businesses across Australia and New Zealand start, survive and succeed. Continuing to integrate AI with our product suite puts more power into the hands of our customers and partners, making our solutions even more valuable," Robson said.

He added that MYOB wants to make existing business systems more useful for customers handling finance and operations.

"We want to make the systems businesses already depend on more intelligent and more helpful. Iris by MYOB is how we're bringing that to life, creating software that doesn't just help businesses manage their operations, but actively helps them move forward," Robson said.