"Customers Don’t Care About AI," Intuit CEO Says

While Wall Street and Silicon Valley are obsessed with artificial intelligence (AI), many businesses don’t have the luxury of fixating on it because they are too busy trying to grind out more revenue, Jason Ma reported for Fortune Tech.

AI still powers Intuit’s platforms, which help companies and entrepreneurs digest data that is often stovepiped across dozens of separate applications. (Photo: Intuit Facebook)

At Fortune Brainstorm AI in San Francisco on Monday, Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi acknowledged the day-to-day priorities of users of his company’s products, such as QuickBooks, TurboTax, Mailchimp, and Credit Karma.

“I remind ourselves at the company all the time: Customers don’t care about AI,” he told Fortune’s Andrew Nusca.

“Everybody talks about AI, but the reality is a consumer is looking to increase their cash flow. A consumer is looking to power their prosperity to make ends meet. A business is trying to get more customers.”

AI still powers Intuit’s platforms, which help companies and entrepreneurs digest data that is often stovepiped across dozens of separate applications.

As a result, Intuit declared years ago that it would focus on delivering “done-for-you experiences,” Goodarzi said.

On the enterprise side, that means helping businesses manage sales leads, cash flow, accounting, and taxes.

On the consumer side, it involves helping users build credit and wealth. Expertise from real people — or human intelligence — remains an essential component.

“Customers don’t care about AI,” Goodarzi added. “What they care about is, ‘Help me grow my business, help me prosper.’”