Starling Bank launches AI assistant for SMEs

Starling Bank has today launched an agentic AI-powered ‘Starling Assistant’ to all business customers. This free in-app tool is designed to boost productivity and cut admin by helping small businesses manage their day-to-day transactions, detect and avoid scams, and plan ahead using personalised financial insights. Unlike standard QAA bots, the assistant acts as a proactive partner by executing complex banking commands.

Tax management and fraud protection

One of the core features is tax ring-fencing, where business owners can issue direct commands to streamline management. For instance, a user can ask the assistant to put 20% of last month's earnings aside for VAT. The AI calculates the figure from account history and transfers the funds into a dedicated Space. The tool also addresses invoice fraud and scam defence. SMEs can discuss supplier invoices with the assistant, which flags potential scams and advises on necessary actions. If payment details have changed, the assistant suggests contacting the company directly to confirm accuracy. According to UK Finance, invoice fraud cost businesses over £41m in 2025.

MTD compliance and receipt tracking

The assistant includes a Making Tax Digital (MTD) Navigator to help sole traders and landlords understand their Income Tax obligations. The tool asks questions regarding income levels and informs users when they are likely to be mandated for MTD. It shares links to HMRC and provides instructions on navigating the government website, such as checking mandates and signing up. Additionally, while business owners can already add receipts to transactions, the assistant will be able to analyze and extract financial information later this year. This will allow businesses to track spending for specific jobs by asking for summaries. The AI will cross-reference transaction history with extracted receipt data to provide an instant breakdown.

Future integrations and growth

Harriet Rees, Group Chief Information Officer at Starling, stated that managing finances can be a major drain on time for small businesses. She noted that the assistant changes this by automating routine tasks and taking the guesswork out of money management. Starling's own research indicates that if more small businesses adopted digital financial tools, their growth could add £25.3bn to the UK economy. The bank plans to expand capabilities significantly. Later this year, the tool will be fully integrated with Starling's Accounting software to help manage cash flow by creating and sending invoices.

Starling will add a new tool to the Assistant every week for the rest of the year. Customers can request new tools via the help section of the app, with smart tool requests becoming possible directly within the assistant in the coming weeks.