Autonomous AI Agents for Accounts Payable
Same-day invoice resolution at scale
Traceability on every transaction
Achieved in enterprise AP deployments
Autonomous AI Agents for Accounts Payable
Same-day invoice resolution at scale
Traceability on every transaction
Achieved in enterprise AP deployments
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What Is Agentic Accounts Payable Automation?
Accounts payable touches every supplier relationship, every cash flow forecast, and every close cycle. Yet most enterprises still run it on fragmented tools that leave humans stitching the gaps: rekeying data, chasing approvals, reconciling mismatches manually. The process scales with headcount, not with technology, and every peak period exposes how fragile that model really is.
Otera replaces it with a fundamentally different operating model. Specialized AI agents execute the full AP lifecycle autonomously, from invoice intake through governed ERP posting, collaborating under a unified governance layer. Every decision is deterministic, every action is traceable, and finance leaders stay in control of policy while the process runs itself.
Meet Otera's AI Agents for Accounts Payable Automation
Our AI agents are built specifically for finance operations, trained on millions of invoice variations, and deployed with full explainability and compliance by design.
The impact
Every downstream failure in AP traces back to intake. When invoices arrive through multiple channels in inconsistent formats with mismatched data, the entire operation starts from a position of chaos. This agent eliminates that chaos at the source, constructing governed, workflow-ready invoice records from any channel, format, or language.
How it works
- Reads structured and unstructured invoices from any source, including skewed scans, handwritten annotations, and multi-language documents where tax fields follow entirely different regional conventions
- Detects and eliminates duplicates even when copies arrive via email, portal, and EDI with different file names and contradictory header data
- Normalizes tax jurisdictions, currencies, and vendor fields against ERP records, then routes based on entity, region, supplier type, and intercompany relationships
Why it matters
Unreliable intake makes payment timing unpredictable, DPO targets unmanageable, and cash flow forecasting across entities unreliable. When the starting data is wrong, no amount of downstream processing can fix it.
The impact
If captured data is unreliable, AP teams recheck every invoice manually, a bottleneck that scales linearly with volume. This agent breaks that dependency, converting unstructured invoice content into validated, system-ready records that matching and posting can trust without human verification.
How it works
- Extracts line items, totals, tax fields, and vendor data from any layout, including multi-page tables spanning page breaks with shifted columns, merged cells, and inconsistent row delimiters that defeat template-based extraction
- Cross-validates against POs, GRNs, and vendor master records in real time, catching discrepancies at capture rather than surfacing them as matching exceptions
- Flags anomalies with governed confidence signals explaining exactly which field failed, what was expected, and what evidence drove the assessment
Why it matters
Every hour analysts spend verifying data is an hour not spent on exception resolution, supplier management, or strategic finance work. At enterprise scale, unreliable capture costs millions annually in missed discounts, delayed payments, and compliance gaps from inconsistent interpretation.
The impact
Matching is where AP's biggest financial exposures live. When tolerance logic varies by analyst or region, trivial variances clog queues while genuine discrepancies slip through, surfacing months later as overpayments and clawbacks. This agent enforces identical matching standards on every invoice, every time.
How it works
- Links invoices to the correct PO and GRN, including partial shipments, multi-line orders with hundreds of items, and retroactive price adjustments arriving across fiscal periods after the original PO is partially closed
- Distinguishes genuine mismatches from tolerable variances using commodity-specific and supplier-tier-specific tolerance rules, not flat percentage thresholds
- Routes genuine exceptions with full context on exactly which line, which field, and which rule triggered the hold
Why it matters
When matching is inconsistent, the CFO cannot trust the accrual position at close. Every period-end becomes a reconciliation exercise instead of a reporting exercise, and payment errors compound into tens of millions in write-offs across a global operation.
The impact
A validated, matched invoice that stalls in an approval inbox is as costly as one that was never processed. This agent moves invoices through multi-level approval hierarchies and into the ERP deterministically, ensuring speed and governance reinforce each other rather than compete.
How it works
- Executes approval routing across amount thresholds, cost centers, and authority matrices, with automatic delegation when approvers are unavailable and fallback chains that respect segregation-of-duties across entities
- Posts to ERP systems with pre-posting validation that catches period-assignment conflicts, configuration mismatches, and intercompany scenarios where purchasing and booking entities operate in different ledgers
- Generates immutable audit logs recording who approved, when, under what authority, against which policy version, and whether delegation rules were triggered
Why it matters
During close, approval delays mean the CFO cannot trust the numbers. Controllers spend nights chasing signatures across time zones while early-payment discounts evaporate on invoices that cleared matching days ago. In regulated environments, inconsistent approvals create audit findings that consume weeks of remediation.
The impact
When exception handling is unstructured, everything becomes an exception. A 0.3% commodity variance sits in the same queue as a six-figure suspected duplicate, and the highest-risk items get attention last. This agent separates signal from noise and makes audit readiness a byproduct of operations, not a separate workstream.
How it works
- Routes exceptions to the right analyst based on type, complexity, supplier tier, and jurisdiction, with context packages containing the invoice, matched PO, specific discrepancy, violated tolerance rule, and relevant policy version
- Provides structured resolution workflows with pre-populated data and recommended actions, ensuring consistent outcomes regardless of which analyst handles the case
- Generates complete decision lineage from intake to posting, eliminating weeks of manual audit preparation
Why it matters
Unstructured exceptions expose the organization to its most expensive risks: buried fraud signals, regulatory findings requiring board disclosure, and the compounding cost of rework every close cycle. This agent ensures human judgment is reserved for cases that deserve it, with every decision fully defensible under audit.
Autonomous Agents for Accounts Payable
Adaptable Across All AP Scenarios
Invoice Intake
From any channel, format, or language into one governed AP flow.
PO Matching
Line-level reconciliation with consistent tolerance logic across every entity.
Duplicate Detection
Suspicious invoices caught early, even across channels with altered formatting.
Exception Handling
Mismatches routed with clear ownership, full context, and complete audit trails.
Multi-Entity Posting
Standardized posting across ERPs, entities, and intercompany configurations under unified governance.
Velocity for Your Automation Team, Governance for Your AP Team
For Your Automation Team: High velocity, reusable building blocks
A single governed platform where guardrails are defined once and applied everywhere.
Before Otera
- Shadow automation across disconnected tools
- Multi-month implementation cycles delay value
- Brittle integrations rebuilt every new workflow
- Data chaos blocks deployment, forces workarounds
With Otera
- End-to-end autonomy on one governed platform
- Six weeks from kickoff to production
- Guardrails defined once, enforced everywhere
- Reusable components accelerate every subsequent workflow
Deployment velocity
Reusable components
For Your AP Team: Governed, consistent accounts payable
A unified AP process that delivers predictable, straight-through invoice handling.
Before Otera
- Manual validation across multiple inconsistent systems
- Interpretation drift between analysts and regions
- No unified governance or decision traceability
- Weeks of audit prep every cycle
With Otera
- One governed platform, full observability everywhere
- Deterministic validation across every entity, jurisdiction
- Complete audit trail, intake through posting
- Controllers focused on strategy, not preparation
Cycle time
Backlog
Get Unlimited Capacity at Lightspeed at a fraction of current OpEx
Achieve the highest possible automation rate without sacrificing auditability or compliance.
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Discount capture at scale
Every discount window caught, every invoice.
Working capital across entities
Treasury sees committed obligations in real time.
Faster close, faster reporting
Close cycles compress from weeks to days.
Fraction of current OpEx
Volume scales without scaling headcount.
Zero interpretation drift
Same governed logic, every invoice, always.
Audit readiness by design
No separate prep, complete trail built-in.
The Autonomous movement has already begun
The world’s most regulated industries already use Otera for proven 90%+ end-to-end automation on mission-critical operations:
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100+ Prebuilt Agents for Accounts Payable
Deploy instantly across intake, validation, and posting workflows.
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Invoice agent
Structured records from any layout, zero correction.
Tax calculation agent
Jurisdiction-specific tax rules, cross-border included.
GL coding agent
Validated cost centers across complex entity structures.
PO matching agent
Governed tolerance logic, genuine mismatches only.
Vendor master agent
Catches identity and master data discrepancies early.
Compliance rule agent
Complete decision lineage, audit-ready without preparation.
Connect your existing infrastructure
Pioneering secure Agentic Automation
Trusted by leading Fortune 500 companies, Otera delivers best-in-class cyber security, data privacy and user trust with extensive encryption and infrastructure protection.
