TurboTax bolsters support options, both human and AI

Intuit TurboTax, in anticipation of the upcoming filing season, announced new support features offered by both human professionals and AI models.

TurboTax Live Full Service, which matches customers with tax experts who can work with them directly, will now also offer the option to meet and collaborate with a local Intuit TurboTax Verified Pro in their area. Customers can then share their tax documents with the professional and either continue working with them online or take the conversation in-person. Customers who used TurboTax Live Full Service last season can choose to work with the same tax expert this season. TurboTax Verified Pros can also provide support on things like marketing, customer acquisition and back office/front office capabilities. Business entities that are partnerships, S corps and multimember LLCs can receive similar services, either in person or online.

"Our decades of tax expertise, network of tax pros, and Intuit's GenAI enable us to serve all taxpayers and small businesses regardless of their tax situation and whether they want to do their taxes themselves, with help along the way or hand them off," said Mark Notarainni, executive vice president and general manager of Intuit's consumer group. "Now, all tax filers, including those seeking an in-person connection with a local independent tax expert, Spanish-speaking filers, and small business owners will have a TurboTax experience that gives them confidence that their taxes are done right and they are getting their biggest refund guaranteed."

The company also announced that TurboTax customers will also have access to Intuit Assist, a generative AI model trained on data such as Intuit's proprietary tax knowledge and the Tax Code. In this model, described as a personal financial assistant, the AI is designed to provide fast, personalized answers to questions, offer tailored insights for specific situations, and even deliver recommendations on how to best take action in the future. The AI can interacted with users in natural language, as it is built on a large language model trained by Intuit's own tax experts to understand the nuances of a customer's circumstances. It is meant for situations where someone gets stuck while preparing their return, or is confused about something and needs clarification. These explanations are available in both English and Spanish. If customers prefer a human, they can also be matched with an expert who can provide guidance.

While large language models are known for "hallucinating" to varying degrees, Intuit said its software includes real-time accuracy checks that will, for instance, surface missed information and provide guidance for resolving mistakes, cutting down on the need for document reviews as well as discouraging filer mistakes, with errors addressed as the customer works.

Intuit has spent years incorporating AI into various aspects of its product line, and the rise of generative AI accelerated these efforts. Nhung Ho, Intuit's vice president of AI, said in a previous story that, in the immediate term, much of the company's AI focus is going to be on enhancing the user experience. A key part of this is the development of digital assistants, such as Intuit Assist, which can not only walk people through business processes but also provide real-time insights, similar to how the company uses live experts today.

The idea, according to Ho, is to shift the products away from the user having to "do all the work" and toward having AI that works with the user side-by-side the whole time, showing them ways to be more efficient and effective.